ArticlePloS one2026
Sustainable hydrogel from biowaste: Synthesis and characterization of pectin and starch-based hydrogels derived from fruit peel.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Arid regions such as the United Arab Emirates face persistent challenges in agricultural productivity due to water scarcity, poor soil quality, and the overuse of chemical fertilizers. As a sustainable alternative, biodegradable hydrogels offer promising solutions owing to their high swelling capacity, water retention ability, and controlled release of water and nutrients. This study explored the synthesis and characterization of eco-friendly hydrogels derived from pectin and starch extracted from orange and banana peels, respectively. These biopolymers are cross-linked using calcium and polyvinyl alcohol, forming hydrogels suitable for agricultural applications. The quality of the extracted biopolymers was assessed by analyzing moisture content, ash content, equivalent weight, solubility, and pectin methylation degree. The results confirmed high purity, with low ash contents of 2.16% (pectin) and 2.31% (starch), and moisture contents of 17.66% and 10%, respectively, indicating good stability and storage potential. The low methoxy pectin content resulted in a degree of methylation of 6.08%, which was favorable for gel formation. Structural and morphological characterization via FTIR, SEM, and SEM-EDX revealed well-defined functional groups, a highly interconnected porous morphology, and structural integrity of the hydrogels even after 20 days of biodegradation. Swelling and pot experiments demonstrated that both hydrogels effectively retained soil moisture for up to 12 days, with swelling ratios ranging from 300% to 350% of their original weight. Biodegradation studies indicated that starch-based hydrogels degraded faster (78.76% weight loss) than pectin-based hydrogels did (67%), likely due to differences in pore size and structural compactness. Overall, the results validate the feasibility of producing sustainable, biodegradable hydrogels from fruit peel waste, with significant potential for water conservation and soil enhancement in arid agricultural systems.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.