As much as 50% of the fruits and vegetables produced globally is wasted, and so are their valuable nutrients. Fruit and vegetable waste mostly consist of primary plant cell walls, which are fibrous and recalcitrant composites of a load-bearing cellulose-crosslinking glycan network as being embedded in a more soluble matrix of polysaccharides, with pectin being the most abundant class of macromolecule within this matrix. Galactose, rhamnose and arabinose are acid-labile sugars that form the rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) hairy region within pectin molecules, explaining the extensive debranching during extraction protocols and the low amounts of RG-I in current pectic ingredients.
While the functionality of RG-I is sufficient for most current applications, the contribution of different pectic molecules, or structures within the same molecule, to their functionality is still poorly understood, as some structural elements are susceptible to degradation by common pectin extraction procedures.
This project will aim to explore a novel biotechnological route for the selective isolation of intact pectin. Furthermore, this project also aims to provide the much-needed structure-function relationships of pectin and unlock its use as hydrocolloid, binding platform, and prebiotic. The project will require a literature review, biotechnology advanced biochemistry (NMR and MS-based glycomics).
The project is aligned to UN's SGD:
