Abstract—Cardaba (Musa acuminata × balbisiana var. Cardaba) is one of the most important banana varieties in the Philippines. Unripe Cardaba banana peel is an underutilized waste from banana processing. This study aimed to extract and characterize pectin from unripe Cardaba banana peel. Following the Central Composite Design (CCD) with 15 treatments, three levels of extraction time (60, 90 & 120 min), temperature (80, 90 & 100) and peel:solvent ratio (1:10, 1:30 & 1:50) were used in the study. The optimum condition identified were 88 minutes, 95°C and 1:28 peel:solvent ratio which would yield 13.25% pectin in dry basis, 13% moisture in dry basis, 8.25% ash, equivalent weight of 930, 7.5 % methoxyl content, 64% anhydrouronic acid and 66% degree of esterification. FTIR analysis shows similarities on the banana peel pectin with the pectin standard spectra confirming the isolation of pectin using the optimized extraction process. During the 3-week storage of the extracted pectin, an observable change is the rapid caking of pectin. However, it remained microbiologically safe after 3 weeks of storage. 
 

Index Terms—banana, Cardaba, optimization, CCD, pectin, FTIR

Cite: Reciel Ann B. Tanaid and Roberta D. Lauzon, "Extraction Optimization of Pectin from Unripe Banana (Musa acuminata × balbisiana var. Cardaba) Peel," International Journal of Food Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 308-315, December 2018. doi: 10.18178/ijfe.4.4.308-315