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The effect of different cell wall degrading enzymes, cellulase (C) and hemicellulase (HC), during the enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) of pectin from carrot pomace was investigated. The EAE with C and a heat treatment resulted in a pectin yield, purity, and molecular structure comparable to an acid extraction (AE), except for a slightly lower molar mass and a slightly higher degree of methylesterification. The addition of HC had a negligible influence on the pectin yield and structure and mainly resulted in more hemicellulose co-extraction. Overall, the AE still resulted in the highest pectin yield, but, despite the much milder extraction conditions, the optimal EAE process resulted in 80% of the pectin yield of the AE. Additionally, this study investigated an EAE with C in combination with an AE, and both combination treatments, i.e., EAE as pretreatment or as an additional treatment, resulted in a significant increase in the pectin yield (up to 72%), while minor structural differences were observed in the extracted pectin. Overall, it can be concluded that the EAE process can be used as a more environmentally friendly alternative for the AE or that EAE can be used in combination with an AE to improve the efficiency of the extraction process.
Laet et al. (Tue,) studied this question.