The digestive behavior of pectin in human gastrointestinal tract: a review on fermentation characteristics and degradation mechanism

Abstract

Pectin is widely spread in nature and it develops an extremely complex structure in terms of monosaccharide composition, glycosidic linkage types, and non-glycosidic substituents. As a non-digestible polysaccharide, pectin exhibits resistance to human digestive enzymes, however, it is easily utilized by gut microbiota in the large intestine. Currently, pectin has been exploited as a novel functional component with numerous physiological benefits, and it shows a promising prospect in promoting human health. In this review, we introduce the regulatory effects of pectin on intestinal inflammation and metabolic syndromes. Subsequently, the digestive behavior of pectin in the upper gastrointestinal tract is summarized, and then it will be focused on pectin’s fermentation characteristics in the large intestine. The fermentation selectivity of pectin by gut bacteria and the effects of pectin structure on intestinal microecology were discussed to highlight the interaction between pectin and bacterial community. Meanwhile, we also offer information on how gut bacteria orchestrate enzymes to degrade pectin. All of these findings provide insights into pectin digestion and advance the application of pectin in human health.

Keywords:

• Pectic polysaccharides
• gut bacteria
• intestinal health
• fermentation selectivity
• carbohydrate-active enzymes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [31871756]; the Wuxi Science and Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund [N20211009]; and the Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Plan Project [2021CG0018]. This work was also supported by the Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province.