The Effect of Different Extraction Conditions on the Physicochemical Properties of Novel High Methoxyl Pectin-like Polysaccharides from Green Bell Pepper (GBP)

Green peppers are massively produced all over the world; however, substantial quantities of peppers are wasted. Functional polysaccharides can be produced from pepper waste. A conventional acid extraction method was used to obtain pectin-like materials from green bell pepper (GBP). A 23 experimental design (two-level factorials with three factors: temperature, pH, and time) was used to study the relationship between the extraction conditions and the measured physicochemical properties. The extracted polysaccharides were further analysed regarding their physicochemical and functional properties. The yields were in the range of (11.6–20.7%) and the highest yield value was extracted at pH 1. The polysaccharides were classified as “pectin-like”, as the galacturonic acid content was lower than 65%. Glucose and galactose were the major neutral sugars, and their relative amounts were dependent on the extraction conditions. The degree of esterification (DE) of the pectin-like extracts was greater than 50% and they were therefore classified as high methoxyl regardless of the extraction conditions. Also, important levels of phenolic materials (32.3–52.9 mg GAE/g) and proteins (1.5–5.4%) were present in the extract and their amounts varied depending on the extraction conditions. The green bell pepper polysaccharides demonstrated antioxidant and emulsifying activities and could also be used adequately to stabilise oil/water emulsion systems. This finding shows that green bell pepper could be used as an alternative source of antioxidants and an emulsifier/stabilising agent, and furthermore, the extraction conditions could be fine-tunned to produce polysaccharides with the desired quality depending on their application.