Characterization of sugar beet pectic-derived oligosaccharides obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis

Three pectic oligosaccharides (POS) obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of sugar beet pectin by combining endopolygalacturonase and pectinmethylesterase, were characterized using high performance liquid chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. According to chromatographic analyses, POS are composed of mixture of polymers with different molecular weights and different galacturonic acid contents. The thermal analysis showed no major variation in thermal behavior regarding POS composition but showed that POS were more sensitive to thermal degradation than the parent pectin as well as the deesterified pectin. No change in composition of the gaseous products was obtained through TGA-FTIR analysis. The X-ray pattern of POS clearly indicated a considerable decrease in crystallinity when compared to the native pectin. Thus, thermal characterization of POS may have practical repercussions if the formulation in which POS is incorporated is submitted to a high temperature treatment.