| Abstrakt: |
The physicochemical and antimicrobial properties of cocoa pod husk (CPH) pectin intended as a versatile pharmaceutical excipient and nutraceutical were studied. Properties investigated include pH,moisture content, ash values, swelling index, viscosity, degree of esterification (DE), flow properties, SEM, FTIR, NMR, and elemental content. Antimicrobial screening and determination ofMICs against test microorganismswere undertaken using agar diffusion and broth dilutionmethods, respectively.CP Hpectin had a DE of 26.8% and exhibited good physicochemical properties. Pectin had good microbiological quality and exhibited pseudoplastic, shear thinning behaviour, and high swelling capacity in aqueous media. TheDE, FTIR, and NMR results were similar to those of previous studies and supported highly acetylated lowmethoxy pectin. CPH pectinwas found to be a rich source of minerals and has potential as a nutraceutical. Pectin showed dose-dependent moderate activity against gram positive and gram negative microorganisms but weak activity against Listeria spp. and A. niger.TheMICs of pectin ranged from0.5 to 4.0mg/mL, with the highest activity against E. coli and S. aureus (MIC: 0.5-1.0mg/mL) and the lowest activity against A. niger (MIC: 2.0-4.0mg/mL).The study has demonstrated that CPH pectin possesses the requisite properties for use as a nutraceutical and functional pharmaceutical excipient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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