Electric field technologies for polysaccharide extraction and structural modification: Electrode- and...

Electric field technologies are increasingly used to extract and modify polysaccharides, yet comparisons remain difficult because systems differ in energy delivery, operating conditions, and mechanistic evidence. This review classifies pulsed electric fields, moderate electric fields, and ohmic heating as electrode-mediated technologies, and induced electric fields as induction-mediated technologies. It compares their effects across starch, pectin, chitosan, plant gums, dietary fibers, marine polysaccharides, and related matrices from molecular to network scales. Reported responses include depolymerization, changes in crystallinity and short-range order, particle restructuring, and network reorganization, with consequences for extraction yield, digestibility, rheology, thermal behavior, and emulsification. These outcomes arise from coupled thermal, electrochemical, polarization-related, and transport phenomena whose relative contributions depend on field parameters, conductivity, temperature history, pH, reactor configuration, and substrate structure. Direct mechanistic support is strongest for heating, current flow, and selected electrode-interface effects, whereas polarization, ion transport, and direct field-induced bond cleavage remain incompletely verified. An evidence-weighted energy-structure-function framework is proposed to guide condition-aware comparisons. Standardized reporting, matched controls, multiscale characterization, and scale-up assessment are needed to enable predictive process design and industrial translation.