Lemon Juice Based Extraction of Pectin from Mango Peels: Waste to Wealth by Sustainable Approaches

Valorization of mango peels to recover pectin has the potential to increase the economic viability of a biorefinery utilizing this waste resource. Replacement of conventional mineral acids used for extraction of pectin with natural food grade acids would assist in making the process more environmentally friendly and safe for food applications. In this work, we have evaluated the effect of a natural acidifying agent, lemon juice, in combination with sonication, on pectin extraction. Sonication was used for 20 min at 80 °C, compared to the conventional process which involves boiling for 150 min, thus improving the energy cost of the process considerably. More than 26%w/w of the mass of dried mango peel was extracted as pectin; this was classified as low methoxyl pectin (degree of esterification ≤ 50%). Pectin having this DE is of importance in low calorie food products as a nutraceutical additive.