Pectin extraction from the Moringa oleifera pods and its application in a jam

Pectin is an important polysaccharide in food because of its functional property. It has the ability to form gels in an acidic medium and in the presence of sugars. For this reason, it is used in the food industry as a thickening agent. In this research, pectin was extracted from both dry and green pods of Moringa oleifera. Firstly, the dry and wet moringa pods were characterized, obtaining humidity values 12.12 and 23.18%; ash 1.75 and 0.67%; proteins 20.62 and 5.91%; pH 6.15 and 6.86, density 0.91 and 0.18 g/mL respectively. In the extraction of pectin, the acid hydrolysis method was used, obtaining a 41% yield for the green pods at pH 2 and 30% for the dried ones at pH 3 at 90°C and 90 minutes in both cases. The pectin with higher yield was characterized physicochemically yielding 3.45% in content of methoxyl, 1.3% of ash, gelling time of 4 minutes, 15% in degree of esterification and 73.92% of galacturonic acid. A sensory analysis applied to the jam made with the pectin obtained rated as excellent. It is concluded that the pectin obtained is of low methoxy, slow gelation and high purity; it can be used to make jam, with good sensory acceptance.