Pectin fruit softening

The synthesis of endo-PG occurs in the ripening stage after an increase of ethylene production [21] and its appearance has been correlated with an increase in soluble pectin and softening [22]. Exo-PG is suggested to participate in the initiation of climacteric ethylene production [23]. Strawberry fruit has been accepted to be a non-climacteric fruit and ethylene... 

As fruit becomes softer, less acidic and sweeter and heads towards its optimum state of maturity, such changes need to be taken into account by the juice processor. Apples, in particular, ate best processed prior to their fully ripened state, as solubilised pectin and softened fruit tissues will seriously affect the... 

Several alkenes occur naturally in living organisms. Some of these alkenes act as hormones and control biological functions. Plants produce ethene as a hormone to stimulate flower and seed production and to ripen fruits. Ethene stimulates enzymes in the plants to convert starch and acids of unripe fruit into sugars. The enzymes also soften fruit by breaking down pectin in cell walls. 

Phosphates have the ability to combine with metal ions, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and copper, and so render the metals nonactive. Calcium and magnesium arc primarily responsible for the hardness of water. The addition of tripolyphosphate or hexametaphosphale will hind these elements and produce soft water. In a similar manner, sequestration is used to soften the skins of fruits and vegetables for faster cooking, and to increase the extraction and recovery of pectin in fruit. Calcium pectinates, which are... 

These studies demonstrate the diverse nature of the role of pectins in the texture changes of ripening tomato fruit. The inverse relationship between EDG activity and the extent of softening in gel and pericarp emphasize that EDG does not play a major role in the early, dramatic period of gel formation. The marked losses in pectin neutral sugars, including xylose, occurred simultaneously with initial gel formation although the mechanism and function of these losses in this tissue remain unknown. 

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