Conference Agenda

Residues from fruits are a sustainable source of valuable products for the food industry. For instance, pectin is a polysaccharide that is widely used as an additive and it also could be used as a film former polymer for food packaging. In Ecuador, residues of babaco (Carica pentagona) are generated, but they are not currently used in the industry. In this work, two methods of pectin extraction from babaco residues were compared and active capacity of films obtained from extracted pectin was evaluated. The efficiency of the methods was compared by a multifactorial analysis of the extraction field. The active capacity of pectin films was evaluated through antioxidant compound release assay, using a food simulant. The ultrasound-assisted extraction method (UAE) showed a higher extraction field of pectin than the acid hydrolysis. Moreover, the amplitude of UAE and the type of residue influenced significantly in the pectin extraction field. The antioxidant compound release from the pectin film to the food simulant reached the equilibrium after three hours. The kinetics were adjusted to Korsmeyer–Peppas model where the kinetic parameters showed a Fickian behavior without affecting the material structure. These results show the potential of babaco residues as an alternative source of pectin and its application for the development of active food packaging materials.