Studies were carried out at different irradiation times (60–180 s)in order to select a proper irradiation time to enhance the extraction yield of pectin. From the results, it was observed that, the extraction yield of pectin was increased rapidly and reached maximum at 128 s and decreased slowly (Fig. 2a, d–e). This phenomenon could explain the fact that, the thermal accumulation within extraction solution due to the absorption of microwave energy promoted the dissolution process of pectin into solution until 128 s and decreased the yield gradually. Whereas, too long irradiation time may lead to degradation of pectin chain molecules, thus affecting pectin extraction rate