Chemical identification of polysaccharides from solid wastes of tomato processing

Polysaccharides from solid wastes of the processing tomato industry (Lycopersicon esculentum 'Hybrid Rome') were extracted using a simple and rapid method, purified and chemically characterised. The yield of biopolymers represented 7.5 % of lyophilised biomass. The polysaccharide showed a complex structure. On the basis of NMR data, the repeating unit was constituted by eight monosaccharides, three of them with an ? manno configuration, four residues with an ? gluco-galacto configuration and one residue showing a ? gluco-galacto configuration. The specific viscosity (?) of the biopolymer, performed at different values of concentration and pH, showed a dependence with respect to the concentration, and the maximum value of viscosity was obtained at pH 3.0.