What is modified citrus pectin good for?
What Is Modified Citrus Pectin?
Citrus pectin is a polysaccharide complex extracted from the peel and pulp of citrus, lemon, orange, and grapefruit. Natural citrus pectin is generally used as a food additive, with good gelling, stabilizing, emulsifying, thickening, and suspending functions. Pectin is also a pure natural water-soluble dietary fiber without any toxic side effects. It plays a very important role in healthy food and is gradually being recognized and applied.
The white concave and convex part of the citrus peel contains a large amount of indigestible fiber. This fiber can be broken down into smaller fragments by treating it with heat, acid or alkaline chemicals and enzymes. Once broken down, the fiber is called modified citrus pectin.
Modified citrus pectin, also known as small molecule citrus pectin, is the product of the hydrolysis of natural citrus pectin. After hydrolysis, the molecular weight is between 2000-50000 and the degree of esterification is 2%-30%. The role of hydrolysis is to cut the pectin straight chain to reduce the molecular weight and to reduce the degree of esterification. Modified citrus pectin is easily absorbed by the intestines and enters the blood circulation, directly stimulating the body's immune system. It can also combine with heavy metals in the blood and promote their excretion from the body.
What Are The Functions Of Modified Citrus Pectin?
Modified citrus pectin has multiple functions, including cardiovascular regulation, heavy metal elimination, hangover relief, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulation, lipid-lowering and drug transport.
Modified citrus pectin is a pectin-modified molecule with reduced molecular weight and degree of esterification and no branches obtained by hydrolysis of citrus pectin. This modified pectin is more easily absorbed by the small intestinal epithelium and enters the blood circulation to exert its effects. Specifically, the functions of modified citrus pectin include:
Cardiovascular regulation: Modified citrus pectin may have a certain regulatory effect on cardiovascular, but the specific mechanism and effect need further research to confirm.
Exclusion of heavy metals: Modified citrus pectin has the function of absorbing heavy metals, which helps to eliminate heavy metals in the body and protect the body's health.
Hangover relief: Modified citrus pectin may help hangover relief, but more research is also needed to elaborate on its mechanism and effect.
Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory: Modified citrus pectin has anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, which helps to maintain the balance of the immune system and reduce inflammatory responses.
Lipid reduction: Modified citrus pectin may help lower blood lipid levels, but the specific effect and safety need more clinical trials to verify.
Drug transport: Modified citrus pectin can be used as a drug carrier to help improve the bioavailability and targeting of drugs, thereby improving the therapeutic effect.
In addition, recent studies have also found that modified citrus pectin also has a certain effect on chondrocytes, which is an important part of the pathological process of osteoarthritis, which may provide new ideas for the treatment of osteoarthritis.
What Is The Application Of Modified Citrus Pectin?
Modified citrus pectin is suitable for food, medical health products and daily chemicals.
Modified citrus pectin is widely used in food, medical health products and daily chemicals due to its good thickening, stability, gelling, adsorption and film-forming properties. Specifically, the application areas of modified citrus pectin include:
Food industry : Modified citrus pectin can be used to make foods such as jams and jellies to increase the stability and taste of foods. In addition, it can also be used in industries such as food and beverages, personal care and cosmetics to meet the needs of different products.
Medical health products industry : Modified citrus pectin has good biological activity and functionality, and can be used for sustained and controlled release of drugs to improve the bioavailability of drugs. In addition, it also has the effects of lowering blood lipids, removing radioactive elements in the body, and anti-obesity, so it is also suitable for use as a health product.
Daily chemical industry : The film-forming and adsorption properties of modified citrus pectin make it widely used in daily chemical products, such as skin care products, cosmetics, etc., which can increase the stability and use of products.