To investigate the composition and structural characteristics of cell wall polysaccharides, three pectic fractions and two hemicellulose fractions, namely water-soluble pectin (WSP), chelator-soluble pectin (CSP), sodium carbonate-soluble pectin (NSP), 1 mol/L KOH soluble hemicellulose (KSH-1) and 4 mol/L KOH soluble hemicellulose (KSH-2), were isolated from Chinese quince fruits. The five fractions exhibited structural and compositional variation. The results showed NSP was the predominant cell wall polysaccharide fraction in the fruit. All pectic fractions had a low degree of esterification (31.7-42.4%). WSP fraction had the highest thermal stability among the five fractions. The polysaccharide chain lengths ranged from 19.4 nm to 121.4 nm. CSP had the highest molecular weight, giving it also the highest solution viscosity. NMR spectra revealed that NSP was composed of RG-I and galacturonic acid main chains, KSH-1 was composed of 1,4-β-D-Xylp backbone attached to 1,5-α-L-Araf units. Among the five fractions, CSP has the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity while KSH-1 has the highest reducing power. This study can contribute to the applications of Chinese quince fruit polysaccharides in food and pharmaceutical industries.
Keywords: Antioxidant activity; Cell wall polysaccharides; Chinese quince; Hemicelluloses; Pectins.
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