Recent advances in utilization of pectins in biomedical applications: a review focusing on molecular structure-directing health-promoting properties

The numerous health benefits of pectins justify their inclusion in human diets and biomedical products. This review provides an overview of pectin extraction and modification methods, their physico-chemical characteristics, health-promoting properties, and pharmaceutical/biomedical applications. Pectins, as readily available and versatile biomolecules, can be tailored to possess specific functionalities for food, pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, through judicious selection of appropriate extraction and modification technologies/processes based on green chemistry principles. Pectin’s structural and physicochemical characteristics dictate their effects on digestion and bioavailability of nutrients, as well as health-promoting properties including anticancer, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, intestinal microflora-regulating, immune barrier-strengthening, hypercholesterolemia-/arteriosclerosis-preventing, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, antitussive, analgesic, anticoagulant, and wound healing effects. HG, RG-I, RG-II, molecular weight, side chain pattern, and degrees of methylation, acetylation, amidation and branching are critical structural elements responsible for optimizing these health benefits. The physicochemical characteristics, health functionalities, biocompatibility and biodegradability of pectins enable the construction of pectin-based composites with distinct properties for targeted applications in bioactive/drug delivery, edible films/coatings, nano-/micro-encapsulation, wound dressings and biological tissue engineering. Achieving beneficial synergies among the green extraction and modification processes during pectin production, and between pectin and other composite components in biomedical products, should be key foci for future research.