Extraction and Characterization of Pectin from Watermelon Rind Using Acetic Acid

In this work, watermelon rind was used for extraction of pectin using acetic acid. The effect of pH, temperature, and extraction time on the pectin yield was investigated. Response surface based on Box-Behnken model was employed to optimize the extraction parameters. The model shows an optimum pectin yield of 18.21% which is comparable with the value confirmed through experiment (18.40 %). The extracted pectin was characterized to determine moisture content, ash content, degree of esterification (DE), degree of methylation (DM), equivalent weight (W eq ), methoxy content, and anhydrouronic acid (AUA). The values of the moisture content, ash content, degree of esterification (DE), degree of methylation (DM), equivalent weight (Weq), methoxy content, anhydrouronic acid were 8.42 %, 5.1 %, 57.30 %, 23.5 %, 983.9 mg\mol, 7.3 % and 72.36 %, respectively. The result obtained shows that watermelon peel can be an alternative source for pectin production.