Antibacterial action, antioxidant activity and anticoagulant effect of pectin extracted from peels of Algerian Citrus sinensis

Abstract: In this study, we have characterized the pectin extracted from peels of Algerian Citrus sinensis and evaluated its antibacterial action, its antioxidant activity and its anticoagulant effect. Pectin was extracted under acidic conditions using hydrochloric acid for PCT-1 and citric acid for PCT-2 and determined their physicochemical properties by Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), yield, degree of methylation, water content and ash content. In addition, the FTIR results showed desired banding characteristics, and their thermal properties evaluated by DSC showed that the thermal degradation was around 240°C. XRD results showed that PCT-1 and PCT-2 were amorphous and have similar characteristics with commercial pectin. On the other hand, the antibacterial action showed that PCT-1 and PCT-2 have no effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and E. coli bacteria, unlike Staphylococcus epidermidis, where it showed considerable antibacterial action [1]. The antioxidant activity of PCT-1 and PCT-2 was observed by 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, the absorbance values recorded for PCT-1 and PCT-2 confirmed their antioxidant potential explained by the presence of several free hydroxyl groups in PCT-1 and PCT-2 structure. On the other hand, our findings indicate that PCT-1 and PCT-2 don’t have a marked anticoagulant effect, but have acceptable potential and can be used as anticoagulants for the treatment of thrombotic diseases with fewer side effects compared to the widely used heparin. These results suggest that pectin from peels of Algerian Citrus sinensis has potential properties as biomaterial for several biomedical applications.