INTRODUCTION

The rapid growth of population and an increase in global industrialization leads to rising

demands for goods and with this, a notable increase in the amount of accumulated waste that

threatens both the environment and human health. The widespread use of this synthetic plastics is

leading to significant, well-documented impacts on the environment, and replacing them with bio-

based alternatives may mitigate the effects of pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions. This

has led to the development of a rich and diverse field of research in bioplastic production.

Biopolymers from agricultural resources, such as starch, cellulose, proteins, and pectin, are

among the predominant materials used for bioplastic production. With this, researches for

alternatives that almost had have the same properties can contribute to a greener environmental

sustainability (Gustafsson et al., 2019). Bioplastics ― partly or wholly made from biological

materials and not crude oil ― represent an effective way of keeping the huge advantages of

conventional plastics but mitigating their disadvantages. One of the source for the production of

bioplastics is starch, Starch is the main storage polysaccharide of plants (Hoseney, 1994) and is

fractionated into two types of polymers amylose and amylopectin. In general, normal starches

contain around 20–30 % of amylose and 70–80 % of amylopectin (Svihus et al., 2005).

As with liquid biofuels, bioplastics industry has to deal with the vitally important question

of whether the growing demand for bioplastics will tend to decrease the land available for food

production, or increase the incentive to cut down forested areas to create more arable land (Carus

& Piotrowski, 2009). With this, utilization of agricultural wastes and by-products alternatives with

low to no value is being looked into. One good consideration is of Chico (Manilkara zapota) peel,

also known as sapodilla (Morton, 1987), a long-lived, evergreen tree grown in the Philippines and
in season during the months of January and February. The fruit rind has found to be containing

pectin, a complex type of starch that is used in producing bio-based plastics, about 4% for every

20 grams of its peel (Christy, 2017). Among the three fruits investigated in the study, banana

recorded highest (10.5%), while sapodilla (4.7%) and muskmelon (4.4%), subsequently. The

detailed extraction study with major influencing factors on pectin yield provided comprehensive

data for the three new sources, which could become an effective raw material for low-cost pectin

manufacturing.

Diminishing natural and non-renewable resources, climate change and an ageing and growing
population are some of the main challenges for the production of bioplastics. Instead of using
highly in demand crops in producing biodegradable plastics, evaluating the properties fruit peels
and other agricultural wastes can become sustainable alternative sources of pectin which can
open new doors in its commercialization.