Extraction of pectin from passion fruit peel using moderate electric field and conventional heating extraction methods

Yellow passion fruit peel contains a high level of pectin that can be extracted from cell walls of plants. Direct boiling is a conventional method of extraction, which takes around 2 h to obtain a good yield of pectin. The long period of heating can produce degradation in the pectin, when the conventional heating is used to extract the pectin a lot of time and energy is spent. The purpose of this study was to explore the conventional and the moderate electric field extractions of pectin from passion fruit peel. The comparison of galacturonic acid content and esterification degree of the pectin obtained by different extraction methods indicated that similar values were obtained. Furthermore, moderate electric field is an efficient, timesaving, and eco-friendly method for the extraction of pectin from passion fruit peel, especially for pectin with a high esterification degree and galacturonic acid content higher than 65%. Industrial relevance: This information is important for food industry since direct boiling, that is a conventional method of extraction, takes around 2 h to obtain a good yield of pectin and uses strong acid solutions. Also, today, this information which shows much interest in the food industry. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.