Extraction of pectin from the peels of pomelo by high-speed shearing homogenization and its characteristics

•High-speed shearing homogenization can accelerate pectin extraction significantly.•Pectin extracted by high-speed shearing homogenization has higher viscosity.•Pectin extracted by high-speed shearing homogenization has higher molecular weight.•High-speed shearing homogenization was efficient for pectin extraction.

High-speed shearing homogenization extraction (HSHE) was applied to extract pectin from the peels of pomelo using a high-speed shearing extractor for the first time and the extraction conditions were optimized using response surface methodology with Box-Behnken design. The optimal extraction conditions were determined: pH of extraction solvent 1.24, extraction voltage 156 V, extraction time 240 s, with the predicted extraction yield was 209 g/kg, which was very consistent with the experimental value (209 ± 2 g/kg) and significantly higher than traditional thermal extraction method (175 ± 6 g/kg at 85 °C for 80 min). Furthermore, pectin extracted by HSHE has a higher viscosity, intrinsic viscosity and viscosity-average molecular weight than traditional thermal extracted pectins. The results demonstrated that HSHE has a great potential for the extraction of pectin with higher viscosity efficiently.