Structural behaviour differences in low methoxy pectin solutions in the presence of divalent cations (Ca2+ and Zn2+): a process driven by the binding mechanism of the cation with the galacturonate unit

Abstract

Pectin chains form a more heterogeneous network with Zn²⁺ than with Ca²⁺ and associate in an egg-box-like configuration only with Zn²⁺.