A central composite experimental design was used to evaluate the influence of pH, extraction time and liquid:solid ratio on the yield and uronic acid content of the pectin from ponkan peel. The response surface methodology showed that the yield is positively influenced by lower pHs, longer extraction times and higher liquid:solid ratio, whereas the uronic acid content decreases with increasing extraction time. The conditions that resulted in the highest yield and highest uronic acid content were defined as pH 1.6, extraction time of 100 min and liquid:solid ratio of 36 mL/g. The pectin obtained under these conditions (PPOP) had an experimental yield of 25.6%, below the predicted theoretical value despite the good fit of the model (R2 = 0.96) and the galacturonic acid content was 84.5%, in close agreement with the predicted theoretical value. PPOP was composed mainly of a homogalacturonan with degree of methyl esterification of 85.7% and a rhamnogalacturonan I region mainly branched by galactans. In addition, PPOP had a very low degree of acetylation (0.1%) and average molar mass of 80,650 g/mol, determined by light scattering. The results showed that ponkan peel may be used as a source of citrus pectin in the regions where this species is cultivated.
Keywords: Pectin; Response surface methodology; Structural characterization.
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