Modified citrus pectin

Last updated

Modified citrus pectin (also known as citrus pectin, and MCP) is a modified, more digestible form of pectin. It is obtained from the peels, seeds and pulp of citrus fruits using a chemical extraction process. [1]

Contents

In general, pectin is a gel-forming polysaccharide from plant cell walls, especially apple and citrus fruits. Pectin is a type of viscous dietary fiber and varies in the length of polysaccharide chains. Although pectin is not digestible by humans, it can be treated to create smaller fiber fragments to increase absorbability across the small intestine epithelium.

Description

Modified citrus pectin (also known as depolymerized pectin, fractioned pectin, modified pectin, pH-modified pectin, low molecular weight pectin, and MCP) is a more digestible form of pectin. Modified citrus pectin is composed predominantly of D-polygalacturonates, which are more easily absorbed by the human digestive system. [2]

Modified citrus pectin is promoted and sold as a dietary supplement. [3]

Safety and adverse effects

In general, pectin is considered as a safe ingredient used as emulsifiers and gelling agents in manufactured foods; accordingly, pectin and MCP are generally recognized as safe. [1]

Although modified citrus pectin is more easily digested than natural citrus pectin, individuals with allergies or sensitivities to citrus may experience diarrhea or stomach discomfort when taking either type of citrus pectin. [4] [5]

There is no clinical evidence that modified citrus pectin is effective to treat cancer. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbohydrate</span> Organic compound that consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen

A carbohydrate is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 and thus with the empirical formula Cm(H2O)n, which does not mean the H has covalent bonds with O. However, not all carbohydrates conform to this precise stoichiometric definition, nor are all chemicals that do conform to this definition automatically classified as carbohydrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polysaccharide</span> Long carbohydrate polymers such as starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin

Polysaccharides, or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with water (hydrolysis) using amylase enzymes as catalyst, which produces constituent sugars. They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as starch, glycogen and galactogen and structural polysaccharides such as hemicellulose and chitin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starch</span> Glucose polymer used as energy store in plants

Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets, and is contained in large amounts in staple foods such as wheat, potatoes, maize (corn), rice, and cassava (manioc).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar</span> Sweet-tasting, water-soluble carbohydrates

Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of two bonded monosaccharides; common examples are sucrose, lactose, and maltose. White sugar is a refined form of sucrose. In the body, compound sugars are hydrolysed into simple sugars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dietary fiber</span> Portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely digested

Dietary fiber or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition and can be grouped generally by their solubility, viscosity and fermentability which affect how fibers are processed in the body. Dietary fiber has two main subtypes: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber which are components of plant-based foods such as legumes, whole grains, cereals, vegetables, fruits, and nuts or seeds. A diet high in regular fiber consumption is generally associated with supporting health and lowering the risk of several diseases. Dietary fiber consists of non-starch polysaccharides and other plant components such as cellulose, resistant starch, resistant dextrins, inulin, lignins, chitins, pectins, beta-glucans, and oligosaccharides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pectin</span> Structural carbohydrate in the cell walls of land plants and some algae

Pectin is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural polymer contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal chemical component of pectin is galacturonic acid which was isolated and described by Henri Braconnot in 1825. Commercially produced pectin is a white-to-light-brown powder, produced from citrus fruits for use as an edible gelling agent, especially in jams and jellies, dessert fillings, medications, and sweets; as a food stabiliser in fruit juices and milk drinks, and as a source of dietary fiber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butyric acid</span> Chemical compound

Butyric acid, also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3CH2CH2CO2H. It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. Isobutyric acid is an isomer. Salts and esters of butyric acid are known as butyrates or butanoates. The acid does not occur widely in nature, but its esters are widespread. It is a common industrial chemical and an important component in the mammalian gut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psyllium</span> Plant

Psyllium, or ispaghula, is the common name used for several members of the plant genus Plantago whose seeds are used commercially for the production of mucilage. Psyllium is mainly used as a dietary fiber to relieve symptoms of both constipation and mild diarrhea, and occasionally as a food thickener. Allergy to psyllium is common in workers frequently exposed to the substance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ripening</span> Process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable

Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make the fruit seem tarter. This effect is attributed to the Brix-Acid Ratio. Climacteric fruits ripen after harvesting and so some fruits for market are picked green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inulin</span> Natural plant polysaccharides

Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants, industrially most often extracted from chicory. The inulins belong to a class of dietary fibers known as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a means of storing energy and is typically found in roots or rhizomes. Most plants that synthesize and store inulin do not store other forms of carbohydrate such as starch. In the United States in 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved inulin as a dietary fiber ingredient used to improve the nutritional value of manufactured food products. Using inulin to measure kidney function is the "gold standard" for comparison with other means of estimating glomerular filtration rate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dextrin</span> Chemical compound

Dextrins are a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch and glycogen. Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by α-(1→4) or α-(1→6) glycosidic bonds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maltodextrin</span> Polysaccharide of glucose

Maltodextrin is a name shared by two different families of chemicals. Both families are glucose polymers, but have little chemical or nutritional similarity.

Prebiotics are compounds in food that foster growth or activity of beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. The most common environment concerning their effects on human health is the gastrointestinal tract, where prebiotics can alter the composition of organisms in the gut microbiome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thickening agent</span> Increases the viscosity of a liquid without altering its other properties

A thickening agent or thickener is a substance which can increase the viscosity of a liquid without substantially changing its other properties. Edible thickeners are commonly used to thicken sauces, soups, and puddings without altering their taste; thickeners are also used in paints, inks, explosives, and cosmetics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resistant starch</span> Dietary fiber

Resistant starch (RS) is starch, including its degradation products, that escapes from digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals. Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods, but it can also be added as part of dried raw foods, or used as an additive in manufactured foods.

Fucoidan is a long chain sulfated polysaccharide found in various species of brown algae. Commercially available fucoidan is commonly extracted from the seaweed species Fucus vesiculosus (wracks), Cladosiphon okamuranus, Laminaria japonica and Undaria pinnatifida (wakame). Variant forms of fucoidan have also been found in animal species, including the sea cucumber.

Pectin lyase is a polysaccharide enzyme with a complex structure that is present in plant cell walls. It has a significant role in pectin degradation and different biotechnological and industrial applications. It can be found in many different organisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levan polysaccharide</span> Chemical compound

Levan is a naturally occurring fructan present in many plants and microorganisms. This polymer is made up of fructose, a monosaccharide sugar, connected by 2,6 beta glycosidic linkages. Levan can have both branched and linear structures of relatively low molecular weight. Branched levan forms a very small, sphere-like structure with basal chains 9 units long. The 2,1 branching allows methyl ethers to form and create a spherical shape. The ends of levan also tend to contain a glucosyl residue. Branched levan tends to be more stable than linear polysaccharides. However, the amount of branching and length of polymerization tends to vary among different species. The shortest levan is 6-kestose, a chain of two fructose molecules and a terminal glucose molecule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vegetarian and vegan dog diet</span> Adequate meat-free or animal-free nutrition

As in the human practice of veganism, vegan dog foods are those formulated with the exclusion of ingredients that contain or were processed with any part of an animal, or any animal byproduct. Vegan dog food may incorporate the use of fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes including soya, nuts, vegetable oils, as well as any other non-animal based foods.

<i>Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron</i> Species of bacterium

Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron is a gram-negative, non-motile, rod shaped obligate anaerobic bacterium that is a prominent member of the normal gut microbiome in the distal intestines. Its proteome, consisting of 4,779 proteins, includes a system for obtaining and breaking down dietary polysaccharides that would otherwise be difficult to digest. B. thetaiotaomicron is also an opportunistic pathogen, meaning it may become virulent in immunocompromised individuals. It is often used in research as a model organism for functional studies of the human microbiota in the gut.

References

  1. 1 2 "Pectins, Section 184.1588". US Food and Drug Administration, Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Listing of Specific Substances Affirmed as GRAS. 7 November 1983. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  2. Lara-Espinoza, Claudia; Carvajal-Millán, Elizabeth; Balandrán-Quintana, René; López-Franco, Yolanda; Rascón-Chu, Agustín (2018-04-18). "Pectin and Pectin-Based Composite Materials: Beyond Food Texture". Molecules. 23 (4): 942. doi: 10.3390/molecules23040942 . ISSN   1420-3049. PMC   6017442 . PMID   29670040.
  3. Eliaz, Isaac; Raz, Avraham (2019-11-01). "Pleiotropic Effects of Modified Citrus Pectin". Nutrients. 11 (11): 2619. doi: 10.3390/nu11112619 . ISSN   2072-6643. PMC   6893732 . PMID   31683865.
  4. "Pectin". Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Modified citrus pectin | Complementary and Alternative therapy | Cancer Research UK". www.cancerresearchuk.org. Retrieved 2021-08-07.