Cell wall polysaccharides from Ponkan mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Ponkan) peel

Cell wall polysaccharides from ponkan peel were investigated with the aim of gain knowledge about their potential for different applications and the use of ponkan peel as raw material for pectin extraction. The plant material was defatted using MeOH: CHCl3, pretreated with DMSO and then subjected to sequential extractions with cold and hot water, ammonium oxalate, HCl, Na2CO3, 2M and 4M NaOH in order to obtain polysaccharides. The polysaccharide fractions were analyzed by chemical, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods Cold and hot water-soluble pectins contained higher amounts of GalA and higher degrees of methylesterification (DM) than ammonium oxalate and HCl fractions. Na2CO3 extraction provided non-esterified arabinose- rich pectins which formed gel in a dialysis step. NaOH solubilized hemicelluloses, composed mainly of xyloglucans, galactomannans and galactoglucomannans. The water-soluble fraction (WSP) was purified using aamylase and amyloglucosidase and gave rise to the subfraction named alpha-WSP. The alpha-WSP was a pectin composed of HG and RG-I domains containing side chains of arabinans and short-chains of galactans, with low DM (39.4%) and Mw of 1.615 x 10(5) g/mol.