Food Chemistry Advances (Oct 2023)
Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) by-products a novel source of pectin: Studies on physicochemical characterization and its application in soup formulation as a thickener
Abstract
ABSTRACT: The global source of pectin production is primarily citrus fruits. However, food industries looking for alternative sources for pectin production to reduce their production costs. Fruit processing industries generate a considerable amount of solid by-products in the form of peels, seeds, core, etc. leading to environmental pollution. These by-products can be utilized as an alternative and potential source for different sustainable products like pectin. Accordingly, the current study dealt with the extraction of pectin using the acid extraction method from jackfruit by-products (peel, core, and tandem) and its utilization. The extracted pectin was characterized in terms of moisture content, ash content, equivalent weight, methoxyl content, anhydrouronic acid content (AUA), and degree of esterification (DE). A maximum pectin yield (35.13 ± 0.49 %) was attained from the core of the jackfruit followed by tandem and peel at a solid-liquid ratio (1:29, w/v) in a water-bath extraction system at 80°C and pH 2.0 for 105 min. The pectin from the core of jackfruit had lower molecular weight, DE, methoxyl, and ash content but higher AUA content than peel and tandem. Then, the extracted pectin was used in formulating vegetable soups as a thickening agent to compare with standard thickeners (commercial pectin and starch). The sensory analysis revealed that soups formulated with a moderate level of jackfruit-pectin in combination with a low amount of starch secured high scores in sensory properties such as appearance, color, flavor, taste, sharpness, thickness, mouthfeel, and overall acceptability in comparison with standard thickener based soup in the hedonic scale rating system. Therefore, this study confirmed the pectin extracted from jackfruit by-products was of good quality with promising application in modifying and improving the thickening properties of vegetable soups.
