Rethinking the impact of RG-I mainly from fruits and vegetables on dietary health

• Published in: Critical reviews in food science and nutrition Vol. 60; no. 17; pp. 2938 - 2960
• Main Authors: Wu, Dongmei, Zheng, Jiaqi, Mao, Guizhu, Hu, Weiwei, Ye, Xingqian, Linhardt, Robert J., Chen, Shiguo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boca Raton Taylor & Francis 24-09-2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Arabinose; bioactivity; Diet; dietary sources; Disaccharides; diseases; Food production; Fruits; Galactose; gut microbiota fermentation; Metabolism; metabolism of RG-I; Pectin; Polysaccharides; Rhamnogalacturonan; Saccharides; Structural damage; Vegetables
• ISSN: 1040-8398; 1549-7852
• DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2019.1672037

Rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) pectin is composed of backbone of repeating disaccharide units →2)-α-L-Rhap-(1→4)-α-D-GalpA-(1→ and neutral sugar side-chains mainly consisting of arabinose and galactose having variable types of linkages. However, since traditional pectin extraction methods damages the RG-I structure, the characteristics and health effects of RG-I remains unclear. Recently, many studies have focused on RG-I, which is often more active than the homogalacturonan (HG) portion of pectic polysaccharides. In food products, RG-I is common to fruits and vegetables and possesses many health benefits. This timely and comprehensive review describes the many different facets of RG-I, including its dietary sources, history, metabolism and potential functionalities, all of which have been compiled to establish a platform for taking full advantage of the functional value of RG-I pectin.