Pectin: A Long-Neglected Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial

Graphical Abstract

Pectin, antimicrobial of the near future: Known since 1937, the antibacterial activity of pectin remained almost ignored until the late 1990s. This study provides an updated overview of pectin as antimicrobial. Less-degraded pectin extracted by green extraction routes will, we conclude, find applications spanning from treatment of polymicrobial infections through implantable biomaterial in tissue and bone engineering.

Abstract

First reported in the late 1930s and partly explained in 1970, the antibacterial activity of pectin remained almost ignored until the late 1990s. The concomitant emergence of research on natural antibacterials and new usages of pectin polysaccharides, including those in medicine widely researched in Russia, has led to a renaissance of research into the physiological properties of this uniquely versatile polysaccharide ubiquitous in plants and fruits. By collecting scattered information, this study provides an updated overview of the subtle factors affecting the behaviour of pectin as an antimicrobial. Less-degraded pectin extracted by acid-free routes, we argue in the conclusions, will soon find applications from new treatments for polymicrobial infections to use as an implantable biomaterial in tissue and bone engineering.