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Pec′tin, Pec′tine, a soluble gelatinising substance obtained from pectose; Pec′tōse, a substance yielding pectin, contained in the fleshy pulp of unripe fruit.

While the fundamental constituent is a cellulose in many Mucorini and other Phycomycetes, in others bodies like pectose, callose, &c., commonly occur, and Wisselingh’s researches show that chitin, a gluco-proteid common in animals, forms the main constituent in many cases, and is probably deposited directly as such, though, like the other substances, it may be mixed with cellulose.

The theory of retting, according to the investigations of J. Kolb, is that a peculiar fermentation is set up under the influence of heat and moisture, resulting in a change of the intercellular substance—pectose or an analogue of that body—into pectin and pectic acid.

Pecto-celluloses are found in various species of flowering plants; those which are present in the stems and roots being true pecto-celluloses, while those which are found in fruits and seeds contain mucilages rather than pectose derivatives, and are generally designated as "muco-celluloses."

These all seem to be products of hydrolysis of a mother substance known as "pectose," which constitutes the middle lamella of unripe fruit, etc.