Abstract
Cactus mucilage (CMU) have been widely studied in various applications. This review addresses the sources, extraction methods, composition, biological properties and CMU applications with the help of bibliometric analysis to select scientific articles available in the Web of Science database and evaluated by VOSviewer (2001–2021). CMU are generally characterized as an arabinogalactan-type polysaccharide, a source of carbohydrates and proteins, minerals, fatty acids, essential amino acids and phenolic compounds. Such attributes contribute to its functionality as emulsifying, stabilizing, foaming and gelling agents. Therefore, it has been used in dairy, bakery, emulsified and powdered products, in addition, as microencapsulating substances, producing edible coatings and forming ecological films. Its main beneficial features consist of antioxidant, antimicrobial, prebiotic, healing, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemic and slimming effects. Thus, this review provides the CMU main evidences in the literature, which reveal their scientific importance, what can boost new research for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
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