The arabinogalactan of dried mango exudate and its co-extraction during pectin recovery from mango peel

Plants arabinogalactans: From structures to physico-chemical and biological properties

Arabinogalactans (AGs) are plant heteropolysaccharides with complex structures occasionally attached to proteins (AGPs). AGs in cell matrix of different parts of plant are freely available or chemically bound to pectin rhamnogalactan. Type I with predominantly β-d-(1 → 4)-galactan and type II with β-d-(1 → 3) and/or (1 → 6)-galactan structural backbones construct the two main groups of AGs. In the current review, the chemical structure of AGs is firstly discussed focusing on non-traditional plant sources and not including well known industrial gums. After that, processes for their extraction and purification are considered and finally their techno-functional and biological properties are highlighted. The role of AG structure and function on health advantages such as anti-tumor, antioxidant, anti-ulcer- anti-diabetic and other activites and also the immunomodulatory effects on in-vivo model systems are overviewed.

Green and Sustainable Separation of Natural Products from Agro-Industrial Waste: Challenges, Potentialities, and Perspectives on Emerging Approaches

New generations of biorefinery combine innovative biomass waste resources from different origins, chemical extraction and/or synthesis of biomaterials, biofuels, and bioenergy via green and sustainable processes. From the very beginning, identifying and evaluating all potentially high value-added chemicals that could be removed from available renewable feedstocks requires robust, efficient, selective, reproducible, and benign analytical approaches. With this in mind, green and sustainable separation of natural products from agro-industrial waste is clearly attractive considering both socio-environmental and economic aspects. In this paper, the concepts of green and sustainable separation of natural products will be discussed, highlighting the main studies conducted on this topic over the last 10 years. The principal analytical techniques (such as solvent, microwave, ultrasound, and supercritical treatments), by-products (e.g., citrus, coffee, corn, and sugarcane waste) and target compounds (polyphenols, proteins, essential oils, etc.) will be presented, including the emerging green and sustainable separation approaches towards bioeconomy and circular economy contexts.

Processes involving selective precipitation for the recovery of purified pectins from mango peel

Three methods for the recovery of purified pectins from directly dried mango peel were developed, using selective precipitation of mango pectin in propan-2-ol (IPA) of adequate volume concentrations for purification. Yields, composition, macromolecular and gelling properties of the resultant pectins were compared. Effluent analyses proved postextractive removal of fruit exudate arabinogalactans. The recovery processes involved (A) washing of raw-pectin powder in IPA of defined volume concentration, (B) fractional alcoholic precipitation of dissolved raw pectin, or (C) selective pectin precipitation from the hot-acid extract of mango peel in adequately diluted IPA. High galacturonic acid contents (≥ 721g/kg) and intrinsic viscosities (≥ 320mL/g) enabled ∼2.2-fold gelling capacities compared to raw mango pectin, which resulted from the standard procedure mimicking industrial pectin recovery from established sources. Removal of the predominant impurities (coextractable exudate arabinogalactans, ash) diminished the yields to ∼49% of the raw-pectin yield. Technical feasibility of the proposed procedures was discussed.

Characterization and functional properties of mango peel pectin extracted by ultrasound assisted citric acid

Pectin was extracted from 'Tainong No. 1' mango peels, using a chelating agent-citric acid as extraction medium by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and conventional extraction (CE) at temperatures of 20 and 80°C. Chemical structures, rheological and emulsifying properties of mango peel pectins (MPPs) were comparatively studied with laboratory grade citrus pectin (CP). All MPPs exhibited higher protein content (4.74%-5.94%), degree of methoxylation (85.43-88.38%), average molecular weight (Mw, 378.4-2858kDa) than the CP, but lower galacuronic acid content (GalA, 52.21-53.35%). CE or UAE at 80°C resulted in significantly higher pectin yield than those at 20°C, while the extraction time for UAE-80°C (15min) was significantly shorter compared to CE-80°C (2h) with comparable pectin yield. Moreover, MPPs extracted at 80°C were observed with higher GalA and protein content, higher Mw, resulting in higher viscosity, better emulsifying capacity and stability, as compared to those extracted at 20°C and the CP. Therefore, these results suggested that MPPs from 'Tainong No. 1' may become a highly promising pectin with good thickening and emulsifying properties, using ultrasound-assisted citric acid as an efficient and eco-friendly extraction method.