Table 1.
Physicochemical properties and composition of ripe Cucurbita maxima D. pumpkin.
Values are means±s.d.
Table 2.
Physicochemical characteristics of the investigated pectin from C. maxima pumpkin and commercial citrus and apple pectins.
Values are means ± s.d.
Fig 1.
Acid-base titration curves of 0.3 (circle) and 1.2% (triangle) solutions of pectins from different sources.
A–pumpkin pectin PP, B–citrus pectin CP, C–apple pectin APA103, D–apple pectin APA104.
Table 3.
The molecular weight of PP, CP and the apple pectins as a function of intrinsic viscosity [η].
Values are means ± s.d.
Table 4.
Monosaccharide composition of pectins.
Fig 2.
The FTIR-ATR spectra of the pumpkin, citrus and apple pectins.
PP–C. maxima pectin; CP–citrus pectin; APA103 and APA104 –apple pectins. A–FTIR-ATR spectra in the 500–4000 cm-1 range; B–fingerprint region of pectins.
Table 5.
Structural characteristics of the pectin samples.
Fig 3.
Excess heat capacity vs. temperature curves obtained by differential scanning calorimetry of 1% pectin solutions.
1—apple pectin APA103; 2—apple pectin APA104; 3—citrus pectin CP; 4—pumpkin pectin PP.
Fig 4.
Effects of concentration (A, 25°C), temperature (B, 1.5% solutions in water), and pH (C, 1.5% solutions in Britton-Robinson buffer, 25°C) on dynamic viscosity of the pectin solutions. 1—pumpkin pectin PP, 2—citrus pectin CP, 3—apple pectin APA104, 4—apple pectin APA103.
Fig 5.
Toxic effects of cadmium (A, B) and mercury (C, D) ions on HT-29 (A, C) and MDCK1 (B, D) cell cultures and protective effect of the pectin samples at two concentrations. Light gray bars– 0.25 mg·ml-1 pectin concentration, dark gray bars– 0.5 mg·ml-1 pectin concentration.
Fig 6.
Protective effects of the pectin samples on ROS generation in HT-29 (A) and MDCK1 (B) cells induced by AAPH. Light gray bars– 0.25 mg·ml-1 pectin concentration, dark gray bars– 0.5 mg·ml-1 pectin concentration.