Hawthorn pectin: extraction, functions and food uses
What it found
Hawthorn pectin is a soluble fibre from hawthorn fruit that can thicken, gel and emulsify foods, and in animal and lab studies its breakdown products showed antioxidant, antiglycation and cholesterol-lowering effects.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Antiglycation and antioxidant effects
In lab tests, hawthorn pectin polysaccharides showed antiglycation activity higher than 9%, with the strongest activity linked to higher galacturonic acid content and less branching. Hawthorn pectin oligosaccharides added to infant formula inhibited the formation of glycation end products at 65 degrees C but not at 25 or 45 degrees C.
Cholesterol and fat in animals
In hamsters fed a high cholesterol diet, hawthorn pectin, its hydrolysate and its pentasaccharide reduced body weight gain by 10 to 40% and increased fecal bile acid levels by more than 40%. In high-fat fed mice, hawthorn pectin pentasaccharide lowered total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and liver cholesterol, and raised HDL cholesterol and fecal bile acids.
Liver inflammation in animals
Hawthorn pectin oligosaccharide reduced total liver fat and levels of the inflammatory factors TNF-alpha and IL-6, while increasing IL-10 in animals on a high-fat diet. It also inhibited activation of NF-kappa-B, a protein involved in inflammation.
Antibacterial effects in lab tests
Hawthorn pectin oligosaccharides with an average polymerization degree of 3 had the strongest antibacterial effect, especially against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. They are thought to work by damaging bacterial cell membranes.
Protection against UVB damage
In HaCaT cells, low and high doses of hawthorn pectin oligosaccharide promoted growth after UVB exposure. This suggests a protective effect against oxidative damage and photoaging.
Other findings
Thicker than other pectins
Hawthorn pectin has a viscosity 4 to 6 times higher than commercially available lemon and apple pectin. This may be due to its different molecular structure.
What the authors conclude
“Hawthorn pectin is a multifunctional food substance.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that hawthorn pectin is a multifunctional food substance whose degradation products have better biological activity than pectin itself.
- They state that these degradants possess properties such as anti-oxidation, anti-glycation, blood lipid reduction, hepatoprotection, antibacterial, and regulating cholesterol metabolism.
- They advise that modern technologies such as ultrasound and microwave will advance the processing of hawthorn pectin and promote new hawthorn products.
How it was done
Pectin is widely used in foods as an emulsifier, gelling agent, glazing agent, stabiliser and thickener, and new sources like hawthorn are wanted because they may offer different characteristics. Hawthorn pectin has higher viscosity than lemon and apple pectin and is reported to reduce the risk of hyperlipidemia and dyslipidemia.
The authors reviewed published studies on how hawthorn pectin is extracted, its physiological and functional properties, and how it is processed and used. The studies covered included lab tests, animal feeding trials in hamsters and mice, and cell experiments.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the health effects were seen in animals or lab tests, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The review did not find human trials testing whether hawthorn pectin lowers cholesterol or improves health in people.
- The extraction and processing findings are about food technology, not health outcomes.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
- Authors work at
- Jiangnan University, China; Jiangsu University, China
The paper
- Title
- Hawthorn pectin: Extraction, function and utilization
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Li L, Gao X, Liu J, Chitrakar B, Wang B, Wang Y (2021). Hawthorn pectin: Extraction, function and utilization. Current research in food science. doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2021.06.002Free full textPubMed 34258587DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error