Investigations on antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticoagulant activities of natural pectins extracted from Algerian Citrus sinensis peels

This work investigates the conversion of orange peel waste into effective biomaterials. Two pectins were first extracted from these peels under acidic conditions using citric acid (PCT-1) or hydrochloric acid (PCT-2), then thoroughly characterized and finally tested for biomedical applications. The characterization of pectin was carried out using various analytical techniques including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The biomedical application of the extracted pectins demonstrates that neither PCT-1 nor PCT-2 have an antibacterial effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa or E. coli . Nevertheless, a significant antibacterial effect was observed on the Staphylococcus epidermidis strain. This highlights their potential use for the treatment of some infectious diseases and particularly against Gram-positive strains. Besides, the extracted pectins exhibit a high potential use as antioxidants. Although PCT-2 does not display marked anticoagulant activities, PCT-1 shows an interesting potential to be valorized as an anticoagulant. All these results show that pectins extracted from orange peel waste can be valorized as effective biomaterials with numerous biomedical applications.