AN OVERVIEW ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PECTIN.

Pectin is an important polysaccharide with applications in foods, Pharmaceuticals, and a number of other industries. Its importance in the food sector lies in its ability to form gel in the presence of Ca2+ ions or a solute at low pH. In food industry, pectin is used in jams, jellies, frozen foods, and more recently in low?calorie foods as a fat and/or sugar replacer. Pilgim et al. (1991). It is used to reduced blood cholesterol and gastrointestinal disorders. Pectin is also used in various applications such as edible films, paper substitute, foams and plasticizers, etc. Pectins are heat sensitive, so temperature is monitored strictly during extraction in order to obtain the highest quality product. Pectins are most widely present in apple pomace and orange peel which are commercially extracted. It is used in low-sugar and low-fat applications. It has been used as a carrier for drug delivery to the gastrointestinal tract in the form of matrix tablets, gel beads, film-coated dose form. From a culinary perspective, pectin is widely used in enhancing the flavour properties in food. This review will discuss the importance, chemisty, gel formation mechanism and fundamental of pectin used in the food industry.