Abstract: The effects of process parameters such as temperature, solid/liquid ratio, extraction time and pH for pectin extraction from Guanxi honey pomelo peel with dilute hydrochloric acid on degree of esterification (DE), viscosity-average molecular mass and galacturonic acid content of pectin were investigated using an L9(34) orthogonal array design. The results showed that the process parameters had little effect on pectin DH, remarkable effect on galacturonic acid content, and the largest effect on  viscosity-average molecular mass. The 9 orthogonal array runs resulted in a DH of 63.5%－63.8%, a galacturonic acid content of 74.2%－88.5% and a viscosity-average molecular weight of 101－202 ku.

Key words: pectin, degree of esterification, molecular weight, galacturonic acid content