Editing Pectin (section)

==Uses==
The main use for pectin is as a [[gelling agent]], thickening agent and stabiliser in food.<ref name="Han-2020">{{cite web|url=https://foodadditives.net/thickeners/pectin/| vauthors = Han J |title=What is Pectin (E440)? Sources, Types, Uses, and Benefits|date=13 June 2020|access-date=7 April 2024|archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927090934/https://foodadditives.net/thickeners/pectin/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In some countries, pectin is also available as a solution or an extract, or as a blended powder, for home jam making.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

The classical application is giving the jelly-like consistency to jams or [[marmalade]]s, which would otherwise be sweet juices.<ref name="Surolia-2024">{{cite book|doi=10.1007/978-3-031-46046-3_13 |chapter=Pectin—Structure, Specification, Production, Applications and various Emerging Sources: A Review |title=Sustainable Food Systems (Volume II) |series=World Sustainability Series |date=2024 |pages=267–282 |isbn=978-3-031-46045-6 | vauthors = Surolia R, Singh A }}</ref> Pectin also reduces [[syneresis (chemistry)|syneresis]] in jams and marmalades and increases the gel strength of low-calorie jams. For household use, pectin is an ingredient in [[gelling sugar]] (also known as "jam sugar") where it is diluted to the right concentration with sugar and some citric acid to adjust pH.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

For various food applications, different kinds of pectins can be distinguished by their properties, such as acidity, degree of esterification, relative number of methoxyl groups in the molecules, etc. For instance, the term "high methoxyl" refers to pectins that have a large proportion of the carboxyl groups in the pectin molecule that are esterified with methanol, compared to low methoxyl pectins:<ref name="Surolia-2024"/><ref name="Kontogiorgos V-2020">{{cite book|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-53421-9 |title=Pectin: Technological and Physiological Properties |date=2020 |isbn=978-3-030-53420-2 | veditors = Kontogiorgos V }}</ref><ref name="Endress-2011">{{cite book|doi=10.1039/9781849733519-00210|date=17 August 2011 |chapter=Pectins: Production, Properties and Applications |title=Renewable Resources for Functional Polymers and Biomaterials |pages=210–260 |isbn=978-1-84973-245-1 | vauthors = Endress H }}</ref>
* high methoxyl pectins are defined as those with a degree of esterification equal to or above 50, are typically used in traditional jam and jelly making;<ref name="UniPECTINE">{{cite web|url=https://www.cargill.com/doc/1432231523066/cargill-emea-unipectine-brochure.pdf|title=UniPECTINE|access-date=7 April 2024|archive-date=7 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240407124532/https://www.cargill.com/doc/1432231523066/cargill-emea-unipectine-brochure.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Yang-2020">{{cite book|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-53421-9_1|isbn=978-3-030-53421-9|date=2 October 2020 |chapter=Biosynthesis, Localisation, and Function of Pectins in Plants |title=Pectin: Technological and Physiological Properties |pages=1–15 | vauthors = Yang Y, Anderson CT }}</ref><ref name="Han-2020"/> such pectins require high sugar concentrations and acidic conditions to form gels, and provide a smooth texture and suitable to be used in bakery fillings and confectionery applications;<ref name="Han-2020"/><ref name="Endress-2011"/><ref name="Sultana-2023">{{cite journal |vauthors=Sultana N |title=Biological Properties and Biomedical Applications of Pectin and Pectin-Based Composites: A Review |journal=Molecules |volume=28 |issue=24 |date=December 2023 |page=7974 |pmid=38138464 |pmc=10745545 |doi=10.3390/molecules28247974 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* low methoxyl pectins have a degree of esterification of less than 50,<ref name="Endress-2011"/><ref name="Han-2020"/> can be either amidated or non-amidated: the percentage level of substitution of the amide group, defined as the degree of amidation, defines the efficacy of a pectin;<ref name="Han-2020"/> low methoxyl pectins can provide a range of textures and rheological properties, depending on the calcium concentration and the calcium reactivity of the pectin chosen<ref name="Said-2023">{{cite journal |vauthors=Said NS, Olawuyi IF, Lee WY |title=Pectin Hydrogels: Gel-Forming Behaviors, Mechanisms, and Food Applications |journal=Gels |volume=9 |issue=9 |date=September 2023 |page=732 |pmid=37754413 |pmc=10530747 |doi=10.3390/gels9090732 |doi-access=free}}</ref>—amidated low methoxyl pectins are generally thermoreversible, meaning they can form gels that can melt and reform, whereas non-amidated low methoxyl pectins can form thermostable gels that withstand high temperatures;<ref name="Said-2023" /> these properties make low methoxyl pectins suitable for low sugar and sugar-free applications, dairy products, and stabilizing acidic protein drinks.<ref name="UniPECTINE"/><ref name="Kontogiorgos V-2020"/><ref name="Han-2020"/>

For conventional jams and marmalades that contain above 60% sugar and soluble fruit solids, high-ester (high methoxyl) pectins are used. With low-ester (low methoxyl) pectins and amidated pectins, less sugar is needed, so that diet products can be made. Water extract of [[Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang|aiyu]] seeds is traditionally used in Taiwan to make [[aiyu jelly]], where the extract gels without heating due to low-ester pectins from the seeds and the bivalent cations from the water.<ref name="Liang-2012"/>

Pectin is used in confectionery jellies to give a good gel structure, a clean bite and to confer a good flavour release. Pectin can also be used to stabilise acidic protein drinks, such as drinking yogurt, to improve the mouth-feel and the pulp stability in juice based drinks and as a [[fat substitute]] in baked goods.<ref name="UniPECTINE"/><ref name="May-1990" >{{cite journal | vauthors = May CD | year = 1990 | title = Industrial pectins: Sources, production and applications | journal = Carbohydrate Polymers | volume = 12 | issue = 1| pages = 79–99 | doi = 10.1016/0144-8617(90)90105-2 }}</ref>

Typical levels of pectin used as a food additive are between 0.5 and 1.0% – this is about the same amount of pectin as in fresh fruit.<ref name="Thakur-1997">{{cite journal | vauthors = Thakur BR, Singh RK, Handa AK | title = Chemistry and uses of pectin--a review | journal = Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition | volume = 37 | issue = 1 | pages = 47–73 | date = February 1997 | pmid = 9067088 | doi = 10.1080/10408399709527767 }}</ref>

In medicine, pectin increases [[viscosity]] and volume of [[feces|stool]] so that it is used against [[constipation]] and [[diarrhea]]. Until 2002, it was one of the main ingredients used in [[Kaopectate]] – a medication to combat diarrhea – along with [[kaolinite]]. It has been used in gentle heavy metal removal from biological systems.<ref name="Zhao-2008">{{cite journal | vauthors = Zhao ZY, Liang L, Fan X, Yu Z, Hotchkiss AT, Wilk BJ, Eliaz I | title = The role of modified citrus pectin as an effective chelator of lead in children hospitalized with toxic lead levels | journal = Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine | volume = 14 | issue = 4 | pages = 34–38 | date = 2008 | pmid = 18616067 | doi = | url = }}</ref> Pectin is also used in throat lozenges as a [[demulcent]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}

In cosmetic products, pectin acts as a stabiliser. Pectin is also used in wound healing preparations and speciality medical adhesives, such as [[colostomy]] devices.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}

Sriamornsak<ref name="Sriamornsak-2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sriamornsak P | title = Application of pectin in oral drug delivery | journal = Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery | volume = 8 | issue = 8 | pages = 1009–1023 | date = August 2011 | pmid = 21564000 | doi = 10.1517/17425247.2011.584867 | s2cid = 25595142 }}</ref> revealed that pectin could be used in various oral drug delivery platforms, e.g., controlled release systems, gastro-retentive systems, colon-specific delivery systems and mucoadhesive delivery systems, according to its intoxicity and low cost. It was found that pectin from different sources provides different gelling abilities, due to variations in molecular size and chemical composition. Like other natural polymers, a major problem with pectin is inconsistency in reproducibility between samples, which may result in poor reproducibility in drug delivery characteristics.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}

In [[ruminant]] nutrition, depending on the extent of lignification of the cell wall, pectin is up to 90% digestible by bacterial enzymes. Ruminant nutritionists recommend that the digestibility and energy concentration in forages be improved by increasing pectin concentration in the forage.{{Citation needed|date = July 2024}}

In cigars, pectin is considered an excellent substitute for vegetable glue and many cigar smokers and collectors use pectin for repairing damaged tobacco leaves on their cigars.{{Citation needed|date = July 2024}}

Yablokov ''et al.'', writing in ''[[Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment]]'', quote research conducted by the Ukrainian Center of Radiation Medicine and the Belarusian Institute of Radiation Medicine and Endocrinology, concluded, regarding pectin's radioprotective effects, that "adding pectin preparations to the food of inhabitants of the Chernobyl-contaminated regions promotes an effective excretion of incorporated [[radionuclides]]" such as [[cesium-137]]. The authors reported on the positive results of using pectin food additive preparations in a number of clinical studies conducted on children in severely polluted areas, with up to 50% improvement over control groups.<ref name="Nesterenko-2009">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nesterenko VB, Nesterenko AV | title = 13. Decorporation of Chernobyl radionuclides | journal = Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences | volume = 1181 | issue = 1| pages = 303–310 | date = November 2009 | pmid = 20002057 | doi = 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04838.x | bibcode = 2009NYASA1181..303N | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=g34tNlYOB3AC&pg=PA304 | isbn = 978-1-57331-757-3 }}</ref>
During the Second World War, Allied pilots were provided with maps printed on silk, for navigation in escape and evasion efforts. The printing process at first proved nearly impossible because the several layers of ink immediately ran, blurring outlines and rendering place names illegible until the inventor of the maps, [[Christopher Hutton|Clayton Hutton]], mixed a little pectin with the ink and at once the pectin coagulated the ink and prevented it from running, allowing small topographic features to be clearly visible.<ref name="www.escape-maps.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.escape-maps.com/escape_maps/history_of_wwii_british_cloth_escape_maps.htm#_edn24|title=history of wwii british cloth escape maps|website=www.escape-maps.com|access-date=29 June 2019|archive-date=25 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625005526/http://www.escape-maps.com/escape_maps/history_of_wwii_british_cloth_escape_maps.htm#_edn24|url-status=live}}</ref>