The effect of high speed shearing on disaggregation and degradation of pectin from creeping fig seeds

The effect of high speed shearing (HSS) on disaggregation and degradation of pectin from creeping fig seeds was investigated. It was found that disaggregation and degradation occurred during the whole shearing process. When pectin solution was sheared at 24,000 rpm for less than 8 h, degradation happened but disaggregation was dominant during this period. After 8 h, degradation became obvious, however, a small amount of aggregates remained even after 24 h treatment, indicating that HSS may not eliminate aggregates efficiently. The presence of aggregates is one of the most probable causes for the inaccurate determination of molecular weight of pectin. A new method was proposed for calculating more accurately the molecular weight based on the change of the reducing sugar content and the variation of molecular weight. Determination of unsaturated uronide and FT-IR spectra analysis indicated that neither β-elimination nor demethoxylation occurred during the HSS, and no new functional group was formed during the HSS process.