Abstract:
Lime peels are an agricultural waste containing pectin as a main component. Pectin is a heteropolysaccharide that can be hydrolyzed to pectooligosaccharides (POS), which possess various biological properties. This study aimed to prepare the POS from the lime peel pectin using an enzymatic method. In addition, the degree of esterification (%DE), gelling property, and antioxidant capacity, as assayed by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, were also investigated. The pectin was hydrolyzed using pectinase at 30, 60, 120, 180, and 240 minutes. The results showed that pectin from lime peel is classified as low-methoxy pectin (LMP). The POS obtained from the enzymatic hydrolysis at different time intervals showed a similar pattern detected by thin layer chromatography (TLC), with the highest hydrolytic activity observed at 120 minutes. Additionally, POS produced from longer hydrolysis times exhibited higher antioxidant capacity than pectin. Therefore, pectooligosaccharides from lime peels prepared by an enzymatic process could add value to lime peels and can be further applied as raw materials in cosmetics.