**5. Conclusions**

The results of the present study suggested that *J. regia* L. green husks, which represent a waste material, could be a source of glucans and pectins, with a potential use in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical fields. Walnuts with green husks were collected from two

different soil areas of Southern Italy (Montalto and Zumpano) which influenced the content, morphological and thermal characteristics of the extracted glucans and pectins, showing that the higher yields were obtained from the Montalto green husks.

In fact, the glucan content from the Montalto walnut husks was about 1.2 times that of the glucans from the Zumpano husks. In addition, GM were characterized by a prevalence of β-glucans over α-glucans. Morphological analysis of Montalto glucans showed a surface covered by cubic microcrystals, which differed from that of Zumpano ones, characterized by the presence of agglomerates of varying sizes of microcrystals. The morphological characteristic of GZ was confirmed by thermal analysis, which showed a higher degree of crystallinity than GM. Pectin recovery was 2.6 times higher from Montalto husks than from Zumpano ones. Additionally, PM, compared with PZ, showed a higher esterification degree that resulted in a higher ∆m needed to remove retained water from the structure. The surface of the PM is lamellar in contrast to that of the PZ, which is leaf-shaped. Both glucans and pectins from Montalto and Zumpano walnut husks will be further studied to investigate how the differences in their chemical and physical characteristics are reflected in their biological activity.

**Author Contributions:** C.L.T. conducted the experiment; P.C. conducted morphological characterization of glucans and pectins; A.F. projected the work and wrote the manuscript; P.P. revised the work; E.C. facilitated and revised the work. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** C.L.T. is supported by MIUR (Ministero Istruzione Università e Ricerca) fellow grant for PhD students in Translational Medicine doctorate at University of Calabria.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
