The Many Uses for Bulk Pectin

The Many Uses for Bulk Pectin

     Bulk pectin is sold in stores as a white or light brown powder. Naturally found in the cell walls of land plants, it is mainly extracted from citrus fruits. This heteropolysaccharide is versatile with many different uses.

  Gelling Agent

  The most common use for bulk pectin is as a gelling agent for jams and jellies. Without it, many jams or marmalades would be nothing more than sweet juices. In most households, it is not used straight; instead, the agglutinate is added to sugar and some citric acid. However, in some areas you can purchase a blended powder in order to skip the mixing step. Conventional jams require the use of a high-ester gelling agent while diet products require a low-ester variety.

 Stabilizers

Not only is pectin used as a gelling agent in jams and jellies, but it is also used in confectionery jellies to give them a good structure. The stabilizer works to give your snack a nice clean bite and a good release of flavor.

While making a confectionary jelly is one of the most common stabilizer uses, it is far from the only one. This substance is also found in protein drinks and yogurt in order to improve pulp stability in fruit drinks. While it is considered an additive, only about to 0.5 to 1.0 percent of the substrate is used. This is equivalent to the amount found naturally in fresh fruits.

Medical Uses

Controlled release medication often employs bulk pectin as a method to stabilize the medication. The substance is also found in colon-specific delivery systems and gastro-retentive medications. Those who have to have mucoadhesive delivery also use this stabilizer due to its lack of toxicity.

In addition to being used in medications, pectin has also been tested as a cancer treatment. The substrate binds to the cancer cell surface and disrupts the mitochondrial processes. While not a popular treatment yet, the binding agents are now in phase two of trials for further evaluation of their effectiveness.

A final way that medicine uses this substrate is in antidiarrheal products. These medications help to reduce the volume of the stool produced while improving its quality. They also decrease the amount of fluids needed for rehydration and shorten the illness timeframe.

Cigars

Some cigar manufacturers use vegetable glue to seal tobacco wrapper leaves on their cigars, but some have switched to bulk pectin instead. In fact, those who collect cigars will use the substance in order to repair damaged leaves. It is an excellent substitute and doesn't take away from the taste of the cigar.

To learn more about their options for bulk pectin, CA residents should visit http://pacificpectin.com/pacific-pectin-bulk.htm.

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