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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Cell Biology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1380533

Mucilage extracted from Chilean papaya seeds is enriched with homogalacturonan domains

Provisionally accepted
Dayan Sanhueza Dayan Sanhueza 1Pablo Sepúlveda Pablo Sepúlveda 1Alejandra Salazar-Carrasco Alejandra Salazar-Carrasco 1Sebastian Zúñiga Sebastian Zúñiga 1Raul Herrera Raul Herrera 2Maria A. Moya-León Maria A. Moya-León 2Susana Saez-Aguayo Susana Saez-Aguayo 1*
  • 1 Andres Bello University, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
  • 2 University of Talca, Talca, Chile

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Chilean papaya, also known as mountain papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens), is a local fruit in Chile, recognized for its rich papain content, fruity fragrance, and nutritional value. The oblong fruit has five distinct ridges and a seed-filled cavity embedded in mucilage. Typically consumed cooked due to its high protease content, the mucilage, usually discarded, is a readily available byproduct. This study analyzed the biochemical composition of mountain papaya mucilage, revealing that papaya seeds yield nearly 20% of their weight in mucilage polysaccharides. The mucilage, separated into soluble and adherent layers, exhibited a high proportion of acidic sugars. Biochemical analysis highlighted the prevalence of galacturonic acid, indicating a significant homogalacturonan (HG) domain. The HG-rich mucilage, currently discarded as waste, emerges as a promising source for polysaccharides, particularly HG, with potential applications in health and the food industry. The mucilage also contains other pectin domains, suggesting its multifaceted utility in various industrial applications.

    Keywords: pectin, Methylesterification, Polysaccharides, Hemicellulose, Seed mucilage

    Received: 01 Feb 2024; Accepted: 09 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sanhueza, Sepúlveda, Salazar-Carrasco, Zúñiga, Herrera, Moya-León and Saez-Aguayo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Susana Saez-Aguayo, Andres Bello University, Santiago, 8320000, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.