ACID HIDROLYSIS OF ALOE VERA (SABILA) BAGASSE FOR OBTAINING PECTIN

Abstract

The processing of Aloe vera (sábila in sp.) has reached a great development during the last years, since its products are raw material for other industries. This has contributed to the increase of solid residues, which are not utilized to obtain added value products in the same industry. In this research, the acid hydrolysis method for pectin extraction from the Aloe vera bagasse was studied. Firstly, the bagasse was characterized determinig: humidity, ashes, proteins, acidity, and total content of pectin, density and pH. pH, temperature, extraction time, particle size and speed of agitation were analyzed as variables of study or factors and pectin yield (%) as response variable. The best results were obtained at 90°C,1000 min-1 and the larger particle size that were the significant variables with 95 % of confidence. Pectin was characterized chemically and for infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It was concluded that this pectin was of fast gellification variety, water-soluble and of high methoxyl content. The characteristic peaks of the functional groups of pectin were observed in infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis.