Comparative Analysis of the Chemical Composition and Physicochemical Properties of the Mucilage Extracted from Fresh and Dehydrated Opuntia ficus indica Cladodes.

Michelle Quintero-García,Elsa Gutiérrez-Cortez,Moustapha Bah,Alejandra Rojas-Molina,Alicia Del Real,María De Los Angeles Cornejo-Villegas,Isela Rojas-Molina

doi:10.3390/foods10092137

Abstract

The development of sustainable extraction methods to obtain natural products constitutes a challenge for the food industry. The aim of this work was to compare yield, separation efficiency, chemical composition, and physicochemical properties of the mucilage extracted from fresh cladodes (FNM) and mucilage extracted from dehydrated cladodes (DNM) of O. ficus indica. Suspensions of fresh and dehydrated cladodes (4% w/w) were prepared for mucilage extraction by using a mechanical separation process. Subsequently, the separated mucilage was precipitated with ethyl alcohol (1:2 v/v) then, yield and separation efficiency were determined. The mucilage was characterized by measuring Z potential, viscosity, color, and texture attributes. Additionally, chemical proximate analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were conducted. No significant differences (p < 0.05) were detected in the yield and separation efficiencies between samples. Nevertheless, the dehydration process of cladodes prior to mucilage extraction increased protein, ashes, nitrogen free extract, and calcium content. The viscosity was higher in DNM than in FNM. The TGA revealed a different thermal behavior between samples. In addition, the DNM showed lower L (darkness/lightness), cohesiveness, adhesiveness, and springiness values than those of FNM. These results support that differences found between the chemical and physicochemical properties of DNM and those of FNM will determine the applications of the mucilage obtained from the O. ficus indica cladodes in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.

Highlights

The Opuntia ficus indica cladode is a common vegetable in the traditional diet of the Mexican population, which reaches its maximum commercial value when it weighs less than 150 g [1]
The purpose of this work was to compare the chemical composition, physicochemical properties, and microstructure of the mucilage extracted from fresh O. ficus indica cladodes with those of the mucilage obtained from dehydrated cladodes, by using a mechanical separation process by centrifugation in order to determine whether the dehydration process affects the properties of mucilage and, its applications in the food industry
Yields obtained for the mucilage extraction from dehydrated and fresh O. ficus indica cladodes were 15.69 ± 0.04 and 13.06 ± 0.19 g/100 g respectively

Summary

Introduction

The Opuntia ficus indica cladode is a common vegetable in the traditional diet of the Mexican population, which reaches its maximum commercial value when it weighs less than 150 g [1]. Cladodes weighing more than 200 g are not eaten fresh due to their extremely fibrous texture; for this reason, it is preferred to dehydrate and grind them to obtain granular solids [2]. The cladode of this species is a food that provides numerous health benefits, including: protection against free radicals and cancer, attributed to the presence of antioxidant components; reduction of serum glucose and cholesterol levels; and as a co-adjuvant to control weight due to its low content of lipids and carbohydrates [3,4,5]. The content of water in these cladodes is high (90–96 g/100 g), dehydration constitutes an alternative to increase the shelf life of this product, reducing transportation and storage expenses [10]

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Conclusion