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Grant support

This research was funded by the grant RTI-2018-094268-B-C22 (MCI/AEI/FEDER, EU). Mendez D. A. is supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Minciencias) of the Colombian Government (783-2017). M. J. Fabra and A. Martinez-Abad are recipients of Ramon y Cajal (RYC-2014-158) and Juan de la Cierva (IJDC-2017-31255), respectively, from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness.

Analysis of institutional authors

Alexander Mendez, DanielAuthor

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December 26, 2024
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Article

Modelling the Extraction of Pectin towards the Valorisation of Watermelon Rind Waste

Publicated to:Foods. 10 (4): 738- - 2021-04-01 10(4), DOI: 10.3390/foods10040738

Authors: Alexander Mendez, Daniel; Jose Fabra, Maria; Gomez-Mascaraque, Laura; Lopez-Rubio, Amparo; Martinez-Abad, Antonio

Affiliations

Inst Agrochem & Food Technol IATA CSIC, Food Safety & Preservat Dept, Valencia 46980, Spain - Author
Spanish Natl Res Council SusPlast CSIC, Interdisciplinary Platform Sustainable Plast Circ, Madrid 28006, Spain - Author
Teagasc Food Res Ctr, Dept Food Chem & Technol, Moorepk, Cork P61 C996, Ireland - Author

Abstract

Watermelon is the second largest fruit crop worldwide, with great potential to valorise its rind waste. An experimental design was used to model how extraction parameters (temperature, pH, and time) impact on the efficiency of the process, purity, esterification degree, monosaccharide composition and molar mass of watermelon rind pectin (WRP), with an insight on changes in their structural properties (linearity, branching degree and extraction severity). The models for all responses were accurately fitted (R-2 > 90%, lack of fit p >= 0.05) and experimentally validated. At optimum yield conditions, WRP yield (13.4%), purity (540 mu g/g galacturonic acid) and molar mass (106.1 kDa) were comparable to traditional pectin sources but showed a higher branching degree with longer galactan side chains and a higher protein interaction. Harsher conditions (pH 1) generated purer homogalacturonan fractions with average molar masses (80 kDa) at the expense of yield, while mild extraction conditions (pH >= 2) produced highly branched entangled pectin structures. This study underlines novel compositional features in WRP and the possibility of producing novel customized pectin ingredients with a wider potential application scope depending on the targeted structure.

Keywords

Box-behnken designBox–behnken designCarbohydrate analysisCitrullus lanatusEmulsifying propertiesFruitFt-irMethylesterificatioMicrowave-assisted extractionOptimizationPectin compositionProteinRhamnogalacturonan-iStructural-characterizationSugar-beetValorisatioValorisation

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Foods due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position 35/144, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Food Science & Technology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.86. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 9.33 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-06, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 34
  • Europe PMC: 11

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-06:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 104.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 104 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 4.05.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 5 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United Kingdom.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Méndez Reyes, Daniel Alexander) .