Extraction of pectin from flax fiber by chemical means
International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology
ISSN: 0955-6222
Article publication date: 1 June 2015
Abstract
Purpose
Building the relationship between retting termination and pectin content remained in the fiber is crucial for ensuring the identity quality of retted flax. In order to measure the pectin content, pectin must be removed thoroughly from the fiber. The purpose of this paper is to find the most suitable method to extract pectin from flax phloem fiber.
Design/methodology/approach
Methods of extracting pectin from fruits were employed to ensure the complete removal of pectin from flax for the first time, including extraction with ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid, hydrochloric acid and ion exchange resin. Traditional ammonium oxalate-KOH method was adopted as control. Each procedure was optimized according to the yield of pectin. A characteristic chromogenic technique for determining the exact pectin amount was used, which ensured the precise measurement of pectin extracted.
Findings
Results showed that comparing with the traditional ammonium oxalate-KOH method, methods of hydrochloric acid and ion exchange resin extract >95 percent (w/w) pectin and the extract conditions are much milder.
Originality/value
Bulk of literatures have covered the problem of how to define the quality of retted flax. But the flax industry in China still uses sensory method to check the retting termination. Connect the fiber quality with pectin content is a brand new idea. Also, the exaction method employed from fruit pectin extract is applied in flax pectin for the first time. These methods are essential for building the relationship between the pectin content and retting termination and also significant for discovering the suitable enzyme for enzyme retting.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Authors are grateful for the financial support of the natural science foundation of Heilongjiang province, China (B201213).
Citation
Wang, L., Liu, X., Zheng, X. and Tian, Y. (2015), "Extraction of pectin from flax fiber by chemical means", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 390-396. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCST-03-2014-0037
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited