Pectin, a polysaccharide polymer from the plant cell wall, is an underestimated natural resource with many potential applications in the food and medical industries. Here we present, for the first time, the chemical composition of pectin obtained from flax shives, a by-product of flax fibre processing. The shives from transgenic flax overexpressing beta-glucanase were analysed, revealing that genetic modification caused an increase in content of lignin, hemicellulose and pectin, without changes to cellulose, rearrangement of the structure of pectin and cellulose, a decrease in the content of phenolic compounds associated with the cell wall, and an increase in antioxidant capacity of the pectin CDTA fraction. The influence of pectin extract on the extracellular matrix remodelling process was verified. In fibroblast skin cells with induced oxidative stress, addition of pectin caused a reversal of the decrease of mRNA collagen genes, an increase of matrix metalloproteinase, interleukin 6 and MCP-1 gene expression, and a reduction in levels of TIMP-1 and SOCS-1 mRNA. The obtained results, in particular strong antioxidant properties of flax shives pectin from the CDTA-soluble fraction and its significant influence on genes participating in extracellular matrix remodelling, suggest the possible application of flax shives pectin in the wound healing process. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.