Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell wall

Cell wall

The cell wall is the tough, usually flexible but sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cells. It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism. A major function of the cell wall is to...

s of terrestrial plant

Terrestrial plant

A terrestrial plant is one that grows on land. Other types of plants are aquatic , epiphytic , lithophytes and aerial ....

s. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot

Henri Braconnot

Henri Braconnot was a French chemist and pharmacist.He was born in Commercy, his father being a counsel at the local parliament...

. It is produced commercially as a white to light brown powder, mainly extracted from citrus fruits, and is used in food as a gelling agent particularly in jams and jellies. It is also used in fillings, medicines, sweets, as a stabilizer in fruit juices and milk drinks and as a source of dietary fiber

Dietary fiber

Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:* soluble fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and* insoluble fiber that is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it...

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In plant cells, pectin consists of a complex set of polysaccharides (see below) that are present in most primary cell walls and particularly abundant in the non-woody parts of terrestrial plants.