14th Australian Sunflower Association Conference Proceedings, 2003

Low-methoxy Pectin of Sunflower Biomass

Ming-Long Liao,1 Bach Tuyet Lam,1 Jane Evans1, Chris Lambrides2 and Antony Bacic1
1 2

CRC for Bioproducts, School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

School of Land and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4068, Australia

Pectins are a group of plant cell wall polymers (rhamnogalacturonans) widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries for their versatile functional properties. As anionic polysaccharides consisting mainly of 1,4-linked -D-galacturonic acid (GalA) residues, pectins are classified either as high-methoxy (HM) pectins if their degree of esterification (DE) of GalA residues is 50, or low-methoxy (LM) pectins if their DE is <50. Due to their differing charge densities, the two types of pectins exhibit different rheological behavior in response to various product quality parameters, resulting in a diverse range of applications. Gelling function in jam-making is the most important and best-known application for pectin.

Dairy Confectionary 10% 3% Other 2%

Beverages 15% Jam 70%

Figure 1: Market share of pectin usage by application

HM pectins require high concentrations (>55% by weight of total mixture) of soluble solids (S.S.), mainly sucrose, and a low pH (<3.5) for gelation. In contrast, LM pectins rely on the presence of enough Ca2+ for gelation, but are tolerant to a wide range of S.S. and pH. Pectins are produced almost exclusively by extraction from citrus peels and apple pomace, which are available as solid wastes from fruit juice manufacture. The native pectins from both sources are normally HM pectins with high DE (>70%), and LM pectins have to be obtained through conversion, generally using controlled acid de-esterification.

14th Australian Sunflower Association Conference Proceedings, 2003

Table 1: Conditions required for gelation for high and low-methoxy-pectins. Conditions pH Soluable Solids (SS) Caicium High Methoxy Pectin 3.5% 55% Not required Low Methoxy Pectiin 1-7% or greater 0-85% Essential

Significant quantities of crop residues (biomass) are generated from Australian sunflower seed production each year. The discarded sunflower heads are a good source of pectins (15-25% yield on dry weight basis). Unlike citrus peels and apple pomace, the native pectins from sunflower heads belong to the LM type, thus obviating the additional cost associated with acid conversion in conventional LM pectin production. The CRC for Bioproducts has established a technology package to produce various grades of HM and LM pectins from citrus peels. In view of the seasonality of raw material supply and the unique properties of pectins from different plant sources, a reliable supply of sunflower biomass could thus represent a good supplement to the pectin production process from citrus peels. The global market for pectin is approximately 27,000 tonnes per annum of which approximately 25% is for LM pectin. The market demands a price premium for LM pectin: US$12.90/kg versus US$11.00/kg for HM pectin.

Sunflower heads of different genotypes grown in field plots (CSIRO Plant Industry, QLD) have been evaluated for their pectin quantity and quality. Different extraction and down-stream processing protocols have been developed to produce food-grade LM pectins from sunflower biomass, covering a wide spectrum of DE values and rheological properties. In general, the pectin preparations obtained from sunflower biomass show good gelling capacity, and easily meet the specifications of having a minimum 65% GalA content. Rheological properties of LM products, including Jelly Grade, texture profile as well as gelling and melting temperatures, were first investigated in model systems involving a combination of different S.S., pH and Ca2+ levels. The unique properties identified from the tests suggest the LM products would be suitable for commercial applications, such as reduced/low sugar jams and jellies, heat reversible fillings, baking stable fruit preparations, and cold setting milk jellies. Furthermore, LM preparations with suitable DE and viscosity have been tested in fruit pulp for yoghurt products, and shown

14th Australian Sunflower Association Conference Proceedings, 2003

to be capable of suspending fruit particulates to prevent phase separation while maintaining the pulp in a homogeneous and pumpable state.

The pectin quality/performance results have demonstrated the potential of sunflower biomass to become an additional source of raw material for the pectin production process. To further evaluate this approach, the next phase of the project will involve a feasibility study with growers on the collection and stabilisation of sunflower biomass during harvest. Furthermore, with the constantly evolving sunflower breeding programs, the pectin quality of biomass from various genotypes will also need to be assessed through an alliance with breeders.