Otimização do rendimento de extração de pectina do mamão verde por meio da metodologia de superfície de resposta

Abstract

Although papaya production in Brazil is very high, post-harvest loss is estimated at over 40%, affecting Brazil's regional economy. As the papaya fruit approaches the maturity point, its morphology and metabolism undergo several changes, with greater sensitivity in the pathological process, causing fungal rot. Green papaya is rich in total dietary fiber and can be used as an alternative source for pectin extraction. The objective of this work was to optimize the extraction of pectin from the still unripe papaya flour from Southwest region of Paraná, calculating its yield and changing the factors that influence the extraction. The fruits were harvested while still unripe, washed, cut into small parts without removing the exocarp, but removing the seeds, dried in an air circulation oven and crushed until the flour was obtained. The response surface methodology was used to determine the optimal extraction conditions to obtain the best yield. Extraction was performed in 2 g of flour to 200 mL of nitric acid solution at different concentrations and at different extraction times, at a temperature of 90 ºC. The highest yield in pectin extractions in green papaya flour was obtained with a 5 g% nitric acid solution 1 mol L-1 and extraction time of 55 min. However, the extraction of pectin from this variety of papaya showed low yield compared to other works.