Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Food Science & Technology, Nutrition & Dietetics, Pectin, process-structure-function, texture, rheology, ex situ, in situ, SUGAR-BEET PECTIN, PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY, PURIFIED TOMATO POLYGALACTURONASE, MOLECULAR-WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION, PULSED AMPEROMETRIC DETECTION, TEXTURE DEGRADATION KINETICS, SOLID-PHASE MICROEXTRACTION, FERULIC ACID DEHYDRODIMERS, HIGH-PRESSURE INACTIVATION, ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY, process–structure–function, Food Analysis, Food Handling, Humans, Pectins, Rheology, 0702 Animal Production, 0908 Food Sciences, 1111 Nutrition and Dietetics, 3006 Food sciences, 3210 Nutrition and dietetics

Abstract:

Pectin, a complex polysaccharide rich in galacturonic acid, has been identified as a critical structural component of plant cell walls. The functionality of this intricate macromolecule in fruit- and vegetable-based-derived products and ingredients is strongly determined by the nanostructure of its most abundant polymer, homogalacturonan. During food processing, pectic homogalacturonan is susceptible to various enzymatic as well as nonenzymatic conversion reactions modifying its structural and, hence, its functional properties. Consequently, a profound understanding of the various process-structure-function relations of pectin aids food scientists to tailor the functional properties of plant-based derived products and ingredients. This review describes the current knowledge on process-structure-function relations of pectin in foods with special focus on pectin's functionality with regard to textural attributes of solid plant-based foods and rheological properties of particulated fruit- and vegetable-derived products. In this context, both pectin research performed via traditional, ex situ physicochemical analyses of fractionated walls and isolated polymers and pectin investigation through in situ pectin localization are considered.