Modified citrus pectin

Quilici-Timmecke, J. New Nutrients against Cancer Modified Citrus Pectin, Soybeans, Lycopene and Other 90 s Cancer Fighters, Keats Publishing Inc. 

Hsieh, T.C. and Wu, J.M. 1995. Changes in cell growth, cyclin/kinase, endogenous phospho-proteins and nm23 gene expression in human prostatic JCA-1 cells treated with modified citrus pectin, Biochem. Mol. Biol. Int., 37(5) 833-841. 

Modified citrus pectin is a nontoxic form of pectin. Animal studies published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that oral consumption of this substance inhibited metatasis of prostate cancer cells. 

V.V. Glinsky, and A. Raz, Modified citrus pectin anti-metastatic properties one bullet, multiple targets, Carbohydr. Res., 344 (14), 1788-1791, 2009. 

I. Eliaz, A.T. Hotchkiss, M.L. Fishman, and D. Rode, The effect of modified citrus pectin on urinary excretion of toxic elements, Phytother. Res., 20 (10), 859-864,2006. 

M. Kolatsi-Joannou, K.L. Price, P.J. Winyard, and D.A. Long, Modified citrus pectin reduces galectin-3 expression and disease severity in experimental acute kidney injury, PLoS ONE, 6 (4), el8683, 2011. 

J. Yan, and A. Katz, PectaSol-C modified citrus pectin induces apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation in human and mouse androgen-dependent and- independent prostate cancer cells, Integr. Cancer Then, 9 (2), 197-203,2010. 

K.j. Pienta, H. Nailk, A. Akhtar, K. Yamazaki, T.S. Replogle, J. Lehr, T.L. Donat, L. Tait, V. Hogan, and A. Raz, Inhihition of spontaneous metastasis in a rat prostate cancer model hy oral administration of modified citrus pectin, / Natl. Cancer Inst., 87 (5), 348-353,1995. 

Marsh grapefhiit (MGF) pulp was homogenized in 5 volumes of extraction buffer at 4 C and maintained at pH 8.0 (28). The homogenate was stirred for one hour, centrifuged and the supernatant used as the PE extract. Activity was measured by titration with a Brinkman (Westbury, NY) pH stat titrator at pH 7.5 and 30°C in 25 mL of 1 % high methoxyl pectin (Citrus Colloids Limited, Hereford, UK) with O.IM NaCl. PE units are expressed as the microequivalents of ester hydrolysed per minute. Uronic acid analyses were conducted based on the m-phenyl phenol (4) as modified for microplate reading (30). 

Pectin is used in foods in two forms, high methoxyl pectin and low methoxyl pectin. High methoxyl pectin is the form normally found in fruit while low methoxyl pectin is a chemically modified pectin. Pectins are acidic polysaccharides that occur in the cell walls of fruit. The commercial source of pectin is either citrus peel or apple pomace. The citrus peel is the residue from the production of citrus juices while apple pomace is the residue of cider production. Thus pectin is a by-product of either cider or fruit juice production. 

Clarified Juice. Some citrus juices, notably lime and lemon, are in demand as clarified products. Natural clarification, in combination with filtration, is often used to achieve a sparkling clear serum. However, native PE action is slowed by the high acidity of these juices, and may not give satisfactory cloud removal. In this instance, modified pectins can serve to enhance juice quality by removing cloud. 

Extraction and Identification. Identification of PE as the clearing enzyme in citrus juices progressed rapidly after MacDonnell et al. (17) reported on cation requirement for extraction and solubilization of the enzyme from various portions of the fruit. PE was assayed by the method introduced by Kertesz (18) and modified by Lineweaver and Ballou (19). The method involved measuring the rate at which the methyl ester groups in the pectin molecule are hydrolyzed by titrating the free carboxyl groups with 0.1N NaOH as they are formed. One unit of PE was defined as the amount of enzyme which will hydrolyze 1 meq carboxyl groups per min from a 0.5% solution of pectin in 0.15M NaCl at pH 7.5, 30°C (86°F). McDonnell et al. (17) showed that the enzyme... 

Smith-Barbaro a. (26) in our laboratory determined the capacity of various fibers to bind the colon carcinogen 1.2-di-methylhydrazlne (DMH) in vitro. The percent of DMH bound to wheat bran, corn bran, alfalfa fiber and dehydrated citrus pulp was dependent on pH of the medium as well as the type of fiber examined. Results from this study show that at colonic pH, a greater percent of DMH was bound by wheat bran than by citrus pulp. Therefore, it is possible that certain fibers bind carcinogen at colonic pH, thus making it unavailable for contact with the colonic mucosa. Other fibers such as pectin (soluble fiber) do not bind DMH at colonic pH, but may modify the metabolism of carcinogen via actlvation/deactlvatlon steps either in the liver and/or in the colonic mucosa. 

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