Structural and compositional variations of wolfberry pectin during hot air drying: Insights into temperature and alkaline pretreatment effects

Xia Y. Cui C. Zheng X. Peng Y. Jenis J. Hao J. Zhao D.
2026 Taylor and Francis Ltd.

Drying Technology
2026 #44 Issue 2 200 - 216 pp.

Wolfberry faces challenges in preservation due to its high moisture content, necessitating drying before consumption. This study investigated the dynamic variation of cell wall material (CWM), particularly cell wall pectin, in wolfberry under various hot air-drying conditions with/without Na₂CO₃ solution pretreatment. Results showed that the CWM content decreased with decrease of moisture content during drying. Water-soluble pectin (WSP) exhibited a marked negative correlation with moisture content, whereas Na₂CO₃-soluble pectin (NSP) and chelated-soluble pectin (CSP) displayed a notably positive correlation. The increase of drying temperature decreased and increased the contents of WSP and NSP, respectively. Under the condition of drying at low temperature and Na₂CO₃ pretreatment, the esterification degree (DE) of WSP was lower than that at 50 and 60 °C. Additionally, significant depolymerization of WSP macromolecular structures was observed, resulting in shorter chain lengths and widths. These findings highlighted the significant impact of pretreatment and drying conditions on pectin properties, offering valuable insights into enhancing the preservation of wolfberry in industries.

cell wall material , Drying , insoluble pectin , water soluble pectin , wolfberry

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College of Food Science and Biology, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang, China
Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China
Research Center for Medicinal Plants, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

College of Food Science and Biology
Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences
Research Center for Medicinal Plants

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