Preface

Pectin is an industrial product of certain fruit peels that contain it, such as citrus fruits, apples, pears, grapes, plums, beets, sunflowers, and so on. Pectins are a specific group of carbohydrate polymers composed largely of polygalacturonic acid units, specifically polysaccharides, which are part of the larger class of plant-derived pectic substances. Typical raw materials are apple pulp and citrus peel, from which pectin is obtained by acid/base hydrolysis and precipitation using alcohols or aluminum salts. Pectin is the traditional gelling agent for jams and jellies, but its applications extend to fruit products for food, dairy, dessert, soft drink, pharmaceutical, and other industries.

This book consists of three sections and eight chapters.

Section 1: "Pectin Production" includes Chapter 1: "Production of Pectin from Citrus Residues: Process Alternatives and Insights on Its Integration under the Biorefinery Concept" and Chapter 2: "Sustainable Horticultural Waste Management: Industrial and Environmental Perspective."

Section 2: "Pectin Biotechnology" includes Chapter 3: "Biotechnology Applications in Pectin Industries"; Chapter 4: "Fungal Pectinases in Food Technology"; and Chapter 5: "The Microbial Degradation for Pectin."

Section 3: "Pectin Applications" includes Chapter 6: "Pectin-Based Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications"; Chapter 7: "Pharmaceutical Applications of Pectin"; and Chapter 8: "Effect of Cross-Linking Agent on Mechanical and Permeation Properties of Criolla Orange Pectin."

This book is for students, professionals in the food and pharmaceutical industries, and researchers studying pectins and biopolymers.

#### **Martin Alberto Masuelli**

Associate Professor Sup., Area of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacy, National University of San Luis, San Luis, Argentina

Adj. Researcher-Institute of Applied Physics-CONICET, Director of the Physical Chemistry Research and Services Laboratory (LISEQF-UNSL), San Luis, Argentina
