# name
Rheological study of pullulan-pectin mixtures to prepare gel beads using the drip method and evaluation as gallic acid release systems.

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
Pullulan (PUL) is a polysaccharide that can form gels using sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP). This gelationoccurs at basic pH and has very slow kinetics, so that gel beads cannot be formed by the dripping method sincePUL diffuses towards the medium before it can gel. To accelerate the gelling process and be able to obtainpullulan beads, hybrid gels were formed, mixing PUL with pectin (PEC). Then, STMP was added to gel the PUL,and Ca2+ was separately added to gel the PEC for comparative purposes. In both cases, the minimum concentrationof gelling agent to obtain a gel was reduced by 90%. The gelation of these STMP-hybrid gels waspractically instantaneous, thus allowing the production of beads by dripping the polysaccharide solution in anaqueous STMP solution. The PUL-PEC gels were characterized by FT-IR, which confirmed the junction of thePUL-PEC molecules by hydrogen bonds in the gel, as well as de-esterification of methoxyl groups and ionizationof acid groups. The addition of PEC did not affect the swelling degree of the PUL gel, probably since it wasgoverned by STMP-PUL junctions, but it increased the water holding capacity, which was related to the presenceof more -OH groups to retain water by hydrogen bonds. PUL-PEC beads loaded with gallic acid were successfullyprepared by the dripping method to evaluate their suitability as delivery systems for active ingredients. Therelease profiles show that they were systems comparable to beads formed by other biopolymers and thereforecapable of adequately releasing active ingredients.

# metadata.dc.relation.ispartof[].value
Food Hydrocolloids, 2025, vol. 160, num.1

# metadata.dc.rights[].value
cc-by-nc-nd (c) Santamaría Hernández, Esther et al., 2025

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Articles publicats en revistes  (Enginyeria Química i Química Analítica)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
Rheological study of pullulan-pectin mixtures to prepare gel beads using the drip method and evaluation as gallic acid release systems.