The study of the molecular structure of self-organizing pectin fraction from plant walls
Kierownik: dr hab. Artur Zdunek, prof. IA PAN
NCN OPUS9: 2015/17/B/NZ9/03589
2016-2019
From the polysaccharides that constitute call walls in fruit and vegetables, pectins are the most complex and diverse biopolymers. Multiple lines of evidence indicate a role for pectin in plant growth, development, wall structure, defense mechanisms, macroscopic mechanical properties and texture of organs. Pectins are also natural, functional materials used for food designing. Recently, in the Department of Microstructure and Mechanics of Biomaterials in the Institute of Agrophysics PAS lead by the Principal Investigator of this project it was found that sodium carbonate soluble fraction of pectin (DASP) extracted from fresh fruits and vegetables, such as carrot, apples or pears, forms regular interlinked and regular network on mica (Zdunek A., Kozioł A., Pieczywek P.M., Cybulska J. 2014. Evaluation of the nanostructure of pectin, hemicellulose and cellulose in the cell walls of pears of different texture and firmness. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 7, 12, 3525-3535; Cybulska J., Zdunek A. , Kozioł A. 2015. The self-assembled network and physiological degradation of pectins in carrot cell walls, Food Hydrocolloids, 43, 41–50). Moreover, an unique thixotropic rheological properties of this fraction was evidenced (Mierczyńska J., Cybulska J., Pieczywek P.M., Zdunek A. 2015. Effect of storage on rheology of water-soluble, chelate-soluble and diluted alkali-soluble pectin in carrot cell walls. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 8, 171–180). Based on these results it can be suspected, that the self-organizing properties of DASP pectin fraction may play an important role in the cell wall, as well as it might show new venues of utilization for the designing of new food and non-food products. However, at present neither the mechanism of networking nor molecular structure of DASP fraction, besides evidenced about abundance of galacturonic acid, are not fully understood. These are the challenges of this project.
The goal of this research is to identify the underlying structural composition and mechanism responsible for self-assembly phenomenon of diluted alkali soluble fraction extracted from plant cell wall pectins.
