Evaluation of chemical characteristics, functional properties and anti-radical activity of water-soluble polysaccharides from green pea pod

The present study was aimed to evaluate chemical characteristics, functional properties and antiradical activity of green pea pod polysaccharides as one of the abundant and low price by-product of food processing plants due to role of polysaccharides as biological macromolecules for free radicals scavenging. Green pea pod polysaccharides was extracted through steps including defatting, removing low molecular weight compounds, aqueous extraction, deproteinization, ethanol precipitation and washing with pure ethanol and acetone. Structural analysis was performed through fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy which characteristic bands of polysaccharides were observed in FTIR spectrum. The monosaccharide composition was found to be glucose, galactose, rhamnose, mannose, xylose and arabinose. Functional properties including water-holding and fat-binding capacities were 2.25 ± 0.12 g/g and 3.95 ± 0.98 g/g, respectively. Emulsion capacity and emulsion stability of green pea pod polysaccharides were more than 75% at a concentration of 6%. The anti-radical activity of green pea pod polysaccharides based on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) assays was remarkable. Overall, the green pea pod can be introduce as a natural and low price resource for extraction of high value added products such as polysaccharides which can be used as novel natural anti-radical agent for functional food production besides its technological application.