Physicochemical, functional, structural, thermal characterization and α-amylase inhibition of polysaccharides from chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) hulls

Abstract In the present study, polysaccharides (CHPS) were prepared from chickpea hulls by hot water extraction and ethanol precipitation, and the physicochemical, functional, thermal and structural characteristics of CHPS were investigated. The results revealed that CHPS was comprised of mannose, rhamnose, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, xylose and arabinose with molar percentages of 2.16, 2.96, 42.17, 9.87, 23.15, 6.29 and 13.38%, respectively. Functional analysis demonstrated that CHPS had good fat-binding, foaming and emulsifying properties. CHPS also exhibited good thermal stability. According to X-ray spectrum, CHPS was a semi-crystalline in nature which was also confirmed from scanning electron microscopic analysis. The solid-state spectrum of 13 C NMR reflected that CHPS were complex and heterogeneous polymers. Moreover, CHPS showed favorable inhibitory activity against α-amylase. These findings indicated that CHPS could be exploited as a hypoglycemic agent or multi-purpose additive in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food industries.