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Effect of Molecular Weight Reduction, Acetylation and Esterification on the Emulsification Properties of Citrus Pectin

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Abstract

Citrus pectin was chemically and thermally modified in order to increase the hydrophobic character of the molecule and its adsorptivity to the oil–water interface. The degree of acetylation and methylesterification was increased and the molecular weight was reduced. The emulsion formation and stabilization properties of these modified pectins were evaluated by surface and interfacial tension measurements and emulsification experiments. For the production of emulsions, a high pressure homogenizer was used. The viscosity ratio between oil and emulsion phase was adjusted by varying the amount of added sucrose. Pectins with a higher degree of methylesterification (DE) decrease the interfacial tension significantly compared to the unmodified pectin. Pectins with increased degree of acetylation (DAc), however, show higher interfacial tension values. In emulsification experiments, pectins with a reduced molecular weight do neither significantly reduce droplet sizes nor improve emulsion stability. Pectins with increased DE or DAc reduce the Sauter mean diameter d3,2 of emulsions significantly and, in case of an DE increase, also show excellent long term stability. Their performance is also superior to sugar beet pectin under comparable experimental conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was conducted in the frame of the project “Allipids–A range of preventive food on the basis of healthy lipids” (FKZ 0315682). The authors would like to thank the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF) and Projektträger Jülich for financial support of the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Process Engineering in Life Sciences, Section I: Food Process Engineering, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstr. 12, D-76131, Karlsruhe, Germany

    U. S. Schmidt, L. Koch & H. P. Schuchmann

  2. Herbstreith & Fox KG Pektin-Fabriken, Neuenbürg, Württemberg, Germany

    L. Koch, C. Rentschler, T. Kurz & H. U. Endreß

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  1. U. S. Schmidt
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  2. L. Koch
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  3. C. Rentschler
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  4. T. Kurz
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  5. H. U. Endreß
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  6. H. P. Schuchmann
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Correspondence to U. S. Schmidt.

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Schmidt, U.S., Koch, L., Rentschler, C. et al. Effect of Molecular Weight Reduction, Acetylation and Esterification on the Emulsification Properties of Citrus Pectin. Food Biophysics 10, 217–227 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11483-014-9380-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11483-014-9380-1

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