Level: Beginner
【Presenter】
Nichika Sakai, Research and Development Department, Unitec Foods Co., Ltd.
Yuka Higuchi, Research and Development Department, Unitec Foods Co., Ltd.
Momoko Asano, Manager, Research and Development Department, Unitec Foods Co., Ltd.
[Presentation overview]
Pectin is a polysaccharide thickener contained in fruits such as apples and citrus fruits, and is used as a food additive for gelatinization of jams and the like in Japan.
The purpose of this study was to rapidly estimate the degree of esterification: DE, which is an important gelation index of pectin.
Pectin is an acidic polysaccharide and has a main chain in which galacturonic acid having a carboxy group is polymerized. Some carboxyl groups are methyl-esterified, and the ratio is called DE. High methoxyl: HM pectin and low methoxyl: LM pectin are classified by DE, and the gelation mechanism is different.
LM pectin gels by cross-linking the carboxyl groups with metal ions such as calcium to form a network, and the gelation properties differ greatly depending on the DE. Therefore, DE is a very important index of gelation. However, titration and colorimetry, which are common DE measurement methods, have problems such as long work times and inconsistencies due to the skill of the operator.
Therefore, in this study, the absorption spectrum data of pectin obtained by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR) was analyzed by PLS regression, which is one of the multivariate analysis methods, and a DE estimation model was constructed. . As a result, it has become possible to quickly and easily estimate the DE of pectin, whose molecular structure is unknown, by measuring it with FT-IR.
[Presenter profile]
2013 Completed master's course at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. Joined Unitech Foods Co., Ltd. in the same year. After working in the Technology Development Department, he has been in the Research and Development Department since 2020.
Unitech Foods Co., Ltd. has a lineup of hydrocolloids such as pectin, natural food materials, and functional materials from overseas material manufacturers, and its main business is to provide and sell them to domestic food manufacturers along with utilization know-how. I am involved in product development, quality improvement, and research work that utilizes Currently, I am mainly studying the molecular structure of pectin and the changes in physical properties caused by it, and I am using statistical analysis by JMP for the analysis.
I was amazed at how easy it was to use PLS regression to build an estimation model with little blurring.
