Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2025
Automated Modular High Throughput Exopolysaccharide Screening Platform Coupled with Highly Sensitive Carbohydrate Fingerprint Analysis
Published on: April 11, 2016
Structural diversity and physicochemical properties of polysaccharides isolated from pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) by
1College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, No. 17, Tsinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China; National Engineering Research Center for Fruits and Vegetables Processing, No. 17, Tsinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China.
Abstract:
Natural polysaccharides were isolated and purified from Cucurbita moschata by hot water extraction and mild acid-base sequential extraction. Chemical and instrumental studies revealed that hot water-extracted and mild acid-extracted polysaccharides with molecular masses of 48 kDa and 85 kDa were both pectic polysaccharides with homogalacturonan (HG) and rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) domains, while mild acid-extracted polysaccharide was more dominated by branched RG-I with higher contents of galactose (10.59 %) and arabinose (8.08 %). Furthermore, mild acid-extracted polysaccharide exhibited better thickening and emulsifying properties, likely due to its larger molecular mass and higher branching degree. Mild base-extracted polysaccharide with a molecular mass of 18 kDa was a glucan-like polysaccharide. It showed the strongest thermostability and gel behavior among these pumpkin polysaccharides, likely attributed to its unique network structure stabilized by substantial intra/intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This study aimed to establish the structure-property relationships between these structurally diverse pumpkin polysaccharides from different extraction methods and provided theoretical foundations for their targeted application in foods.
