The usage of pectin obtained from sour cherry seed in the production of plant-based natural hydrogel

Sour cherry, which is widely cultivated in our country, has limited table consumption and is largely processed into different products in industrial applications. During the processing of the fruit into these products, tons of seeds are separated from the process and disposed of without any treatment. Therefore, the evaluation of sour cherry stones (VÇ) as raw materials in the production of value-added products is important in terms of waste management and economy.In the present study, VÇ were used as raw material for pectin production. The characteristic structure of sour cherry seed pectin (VÇP) was identified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Additionally, the characteristics of these powders were compared with the commercial counterpart (apple-based pectin). Moisture content for VÇP was 4.53%, this rate was 6.80% for TEP (p≤0.05). The ash content was determined as 3.96% and 5.12% for VÇP and TEP, respectively (p≤0.05). Differences were also detected between the water activity, color, Hausner ratio and Carr index values of pectin powders. Oil binding abilities of VÇP (203.52%) and TEP (288.94%) were also identified. Emulsion activity index was 23.77 m2/g for VÇP and 34.90 m2/g for apple pectin (p≤0.05). Within the scope of the study, VCPs were used as support materials in the production of soy protein-based natural hydrogels. For this purpose, natural hydrogels with different structures (SH: hydrogels produced using soy protein alone, SVPH: hydrogels produced in the presence of soy protein and VÇP, STPH: hydrogels produced in the presence of soy protein and apple pectin) were constructed. Possible differences in the morphological structures of the hydrogel systems were examined by images taken from the scanning electron microscope. Water holding capacity, swelling ratio, and protein leaching rate for VCP-supported hydrogels were determined as 91.65%, 5.78%, and 12.51%, respectively. These values were 83.99% (water holding capacity), 5.37% (swelling rate) and 15.81% (protein leaching rate) for TEP-supported counterpart. Textural analysis results showed that the three-dimensional structure of VCP-supported systems is stronger than tohose of the others. VCP supported systems have also demonstrated awareness in bioactive substance transport.