[en] The binding of zinc by purified cellulose, xylan, methylated xylan, pectin and methylated pectin was measured in vitro. Methylated xylan and methylated pectin were prepared chemically from xylan and pectin, respectively, to block hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. Comparison of zinc binding capacities was made between xylan and methylated xylan, and between pectin and methylated pectin to assess the role of the two functional groups in binding minerals. The binding of zinc was conducted at pH 2.6, 4.0, 5.4 and 6.8 in various concentrations of ZnSO₄ solution containing ⁶⁵Zn using a dialysis system for water-soluble pectin and an incubation-centrifugation model for the other four water-insoluble fibers. The results showed that zinc binding by each fiber was pH dependent and it increased from pH 2.6 to 6.8 (p < 0.001). At pH 6.8, % Zn bound to fiber decreased as concentration of ZnSO₄ increased from 1 μM to 96 μM (p less than or equal to 0.01). mean zinc binding ratio of pectin to methylated xylan was 5.1, whereas the ratio of pectin t methylated pectin was only 1.7. This suggests that the hydroxyl group in xylan plays a more important role than the carboxyl group in pectin in the binding of zinc