| Summary: | Abstract Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis) is regarded as an edible medicine plant in China. Here, gardenia flower polysaccharide fraction (GFPF) was extracted by water at 90°C and its chemical composition, rheological properties, and antioxidant activities of GFPF were investigated. The GFPF extraction yield was 18.04 ± 1.81% (W/W) and mainly comprised neutral sugars (46.83 ± 3.14%), uronic acid (35.21 ± 0.17%), protein (1.63 ± 0.34%), and total phenol (9.49 ± 0.08 mgGAE/g). Galacturonic acid (41.05 ± 0.59%) was the main monosaccharide, and galactose, glucose, arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, mannose, and glucuronic acid were also detected in GFPF. Its degree of esterification was 32.76 ± 1.52%. FT‐IR spectra analysis showed a similar absorption pattern between GFPF and pectin from apple. The results suggested that GFPF was low methoxy pectin. Thermogravimetric analysis and zeta potential analysis indicated that the pectin was stable under high temperature and alkaline condition. Steady rheology showed that the GFPF dispersion was a shear thinned pseudoplastic fluid with high apparent viscosities at concentration above 2%. The degree of pseudoplasticity of the solutions increased with the concentrations increased and the temperatures decreased. DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging assay indicated that GFPF had relatively high antioxidant activity. The results showed that gardenia flower was rich in pectin polysaccharides with low methoxy pectin. It had high apparent viscosities at concentration above 2% and had good antioxidant activity. The data suggested that GFPF can be a new resource of low methoxy pectin with potential application as thicker or gelling agents in food industry.
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