Brazilian Biodiversity Research Articles

Incorporating costs, thresholds and spatial extents for selecting stream bioindicators in an ecotone between two Brazilian biodiversity hotspots

Biomonitoring is critical for characterizing and monitoring status, spatial patterns, and long-term trends in the ecological condition of freshwater ecosystems. The selection of cost-effective bioindicators is a critical step in establishing such monitoring programs. Key indicator considerations are a reliable response to anthropogenic disturbances, a high benefit-cost-ratio and sensitivity at multiple spatial extents. We evaluated non-linear responses of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) and fish to the effects of native vegetation loss within buffers of 100 m and 1000 m and assessed the sampling and processing costs involved for each assemblage. We sampled 37 neotropical stream sites in the Formoso River network, a karstic region of the Bodoquena Plateau, midwest Brazil, lying in the ecotone between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biological hotspots. We used TITAN (threshold indicator taxa analysis) to identify six indicator taxa, four EPT genera and two fish species. The four EPT genera had low negative thresholds to native vegetation loss, whereas the two fish species had positive thresholds. Thresholds were lower for the 100 m buffers than the 1000 m buffers for EPT. The most sensitive taxon (Macronema, Trichoptera) had a threshold of 0% native vegetation loss in the 100 m buffers and nearly 40% in the 1000 m buffers. For taxa richness, we found no non-linear response to the effects of native vegetation loss for buffer extent nor assemblage. The total cost for EPT biomonitoring was US$ 3,616; whereas for fish, the total was US$ 1,901. Although fish were less expensive than EPT, they did not respond negatively to native vegetation loss and their positive threshold started at 48%, a level of vegetation loss that was highly disruptive of EPT. Therefore, we do not recommend using fish to monitor the effects of native vegetation loss on headwater streams in the Bodoquena Plateau. Although EPT monitoring costs 52% more than fish assemblage monitoring, it detected earlier impacts of the effects of native vegetation loss on stream biota, especially in the 100 m buffer. Therefore, EPT are more cost-effective early warning indicators for monitoring the effects of native vegetation loss in Bodoquena Plateau headwaters.

Brazilian protected areas that are larger, older, and closer to urban areas are more studied by scientists

The Brazilian System of Conservation Units is a federal law that plays a crucial role in the conservation of the Brazilian biodiversity, by legally regulating the protected areas (PAs). Many scientific studies and theories have been developed in Brazilian PAs, addressing their environmental, economic, social, and scientific importance. In this study, we performed a systematic mapping to evaluate what factors affect the number of scientific papers developed in PAs. We selected the following factors: number of papers per PA, the subject category of papers, area and age of PAs, distance to urban areas, and distance to other PAs. We found 2715 papers regarding 1563 Brazilian PAs published between 1991 and 2017, with significant growth in the number of publications over the years. We found a geographic bias at a national scale, where PAs that are larger, older, and closer to urban areas have the greatest number and diversity of papers These variables driver the research in Brazilian PA, nonetheless, approximately 90% of all PAs had less than five papers indicated the great number of PA with few papers Therefore, more investment is necessary to reduce the geographic bias and increase the number and diversity of papers in Brazilian PAs.

Identification of a Prenyl Chalcone as a Competitive Lipoxygenase Inhibitor: Screening, Biochemical Evaluation and Molecular Modeling Studies

Cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) are key targets for the development of new anti-inflammatory agents. LOX, which is involved in the biosynthesis of mediators in inflammation and allergic reactions, was selected for a biochemical screening campaign to identify LOX inhibitors by employing the main natural product library of Brazilian biodiversity. Two prenyl chalcones were identified as potent inhibitors of LOX-1 in the screening. The most active compound, (E)-2-O-farnesyl chalcone, decreased the rate of oxygen consumption to an extent similar to that of the positive control, nordihydroguaiaretic acid. Additionally, studies on the mechanism of the action indicated that (E)-2-O-farnesyl chalcone is a competitive LOX-1 inhibitor. Molecular modeling studies indicated the importance of the prenyl moieties for the binding of the inhibitors to the LOX binding site, which is related to their pharmacological properties.

Determination of Kinetic and Phenomenological Models to Describe the Guapeva Drying Process in a Tunnel Type Dryer by Using Differential Evolution

Brazilian cerrado biodiversity plays an important role in different areas, such as food and medicine due to the variety of plant species that can be found. However, this has been poorly studied in order to explore aspects related to food and analysis of crude extracts or isolated compounds. In this context, this contribution aims to determine kinetic and phenomenological models to evaluate the mass and energy transport during the drying operation of Guapeva (Pouteria gardneriana Radlk) by formulating and solving two inverse problems considering the Differential Evolution algorithm. The mathematical model that represents the Guapeva drying process considers a one-dimensional differential equation system in spherical coordinates. To solve this system, the Normal Collocation is used as a numerical strategy to integrate the mass and energy balances. The proposed inverse problem considers experimental data obtained in an experiment carried out in a tunnel type dryer to obtain kinetics and thermo-physical parameters. The obtained results demonstrated both the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methodology to solve inverse problems.

Coronavirus from cities to forests: mapping vulnerable interfaces and hotspots for SARS-CoV-2 spillover from humans to biodiversity

BackgroundWith the continuous spreading of SARS-CoV-2 globally, the probability for interactions between humans who are infected and wildlife tends to grow intensely, as well as the likelihood of viral spillover from humans to biodiversity. This aspect is of great concern for wildlife conservation and human health, because the list of highly susceptible animal groups that have contracted SARS-CoV-2 (bats, mustelids, and primates) is large and, once infected, these groups can act as vectors and reservoirs, becoming a substrate for viral mutations and recombinations and boosting the risk of new strains emerging, which can return to humans as new diseases. Little is known about the inducing factors facilitating coronavirus spillover from one species to another, but it can be argued that interface zones between wild fauna and humans, which are narrow edges between anthropic (cities, roads, parks, ecotourism sites, and agricultural frontiers) and sylvatic habitat, are zones of increased interaction between humans and wild animals, and thus have a higher probability of viral spillover events than other areas. In a similar context, the habitat compression by forest fragmentation also brings species and infected beings closer, reducing their home ranges and intensifying the risk of spillover among wild populations. Therefore, on the basis of the premise for zoonosis—the greater human–animal interaction, the greater risk of viral spillover—we aimed to identify the most and least susceptible areas to viral spillover in Brazil. MethodsWe developed an approach combining ecological modelling (Biomod2: modelling habitat suitability for 158 bat and 49 primate species) and geographical information systems (by using demographic indicators, roads, and related variables) to map the most and least susceptible areas to spillover in Brazil. This map indicates priority areas for serological surveillance of fauna for monitoring the spillover and circulation of SARS-CoV-2 strains and variants in Brazilian biodiversity. FindingsAmong our most relevant preliminary results, we found that forested areas surrounding the São Paulo Metropolitan Area are among the most susceptible areas for spillover. This resulted from the combination of high contaminated human density and high density of non-human primates interacting with humans in these transitional areas. InterpretationBecause of the high resolution of the results, the map can be useful for action planning and decision making in conservation and health, since susceptible areas denote not only a greater risk of virus jumping from humans to animals, but also of coronaviruses returning from fauna to humans in new viral strains. FundingFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP; 2019/12988-7 and 2018/14389-0).

Calendário de Sazonalidade de Hortifrutícolas Não Convencionais ou Negligenciadas

Introdução: Com uma enorme variedade de plantas comestíveis, nativas ou exóticas, o Brasil tem sua biodiversidade subexplorada na alimentação. Objetivo: Desenvolver um Calendário de Sazonalidade, a fim de contribuir para o conhecimento, uso e preservação dessas espécies que compõem a biodiversidade. Métodos: Sistematização de informações sobre o período de safra de hortifrutícolas não convencionais ou negligenciadas, por meio de revisão da literatura científica, classificando-as de acordo com as partes utilizadas na alimentação humana, como frutas, hortaliças-fruto, hortaliças herbáceas e sementes. Resultados: O calendário contempla 71 espécies, classificadas em 60 nativas e 11 exóticas, subdivididas em 59 frutas, 3 hortaliças-fruto, 13 hortaliças herbáceas e 6 sementes. Conclusão: A relevância do tema e a escassez de trabalhos que apresentem ferramentas de fácil aplicação, que propiciem a adoção de hortifrutícolas não convencionais ou negligenciadas na culinária e gastronomia, ressaltam a importância de mais estudos voltados para esta temática. Almeja-se, dessa forma, que o calendário proposto seja utilizado pela população e, sobretudo, por profissionais dos serviços de alimentação no planejamento dos cardápios, visando a valorização da cultura alimentar e preservação da biodiversidade brasileira.

LeafLive-DB: Classification and Data Storage of Botanical Studies

The development of studies, projects, and technologies that contribute to the understanding and preservation of plant biodiversity is becoming highly necessary, as well as tools and software platforms that enable the storage and classification of information resulting from studies on biodiversity. This work presents LeafLive-DB, a software platform that helps map and characterize species from the Brazilian plant biodiversity, offering the possibility of worldwide distribution. Developed by Brazilian and Peruvians researchers, this platform, which is available in its first version, features some functions for consulting and registering plant species and their taxonomy, among other information, through intuitive interfaces and an environment that promotes collaboration and data and research sharing. The platform innovates in data processing, functionality, and development architecture. It has ten thousand registers, and it should start to be distributed in partnership with schools and higher education institutions.

Morphophysiological traits of an amphibian exposed to historical industrial pollution in a Brazilian biodiversity hotspot

Abstract Industrial pollution is a significant global threat to biodiversity, but its consequences on rainforest ecosystems remain poorly understood. Amphibians are especially susceptible to pollutants released on natural environments due to their aquatic-terrestrial life cycle. Here, we explored the association of severe historical air, water, and soil pollution with physiological and morphological alterations on Rhinella ornata individuals, an endemic toad species of Atlantic Forest, a world biodiversity hotspot. We hypothesized that individuals sampled in sites closer to the pollution source will present worse indicators of health. As predicted, toads at decreasing distances from the pollution source presented enlargement of organs related to detoxification function (liver and kidneys) and compensatory immunological function (spleen). Contrary to our predictions, however, we do not found significant effects of proximity to the pollution source on individuals’ body condition index, on the indicative of fertility (testicles masses) or on macroparasite infection’s response (eosinophil counts). Surprisingly, proximity to the pollution source was associated with lower chronic stress levels (neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio) on individuals. We discuss which processes could promote the alterations found on the toads. We also discuss the possible acquirement of local resistance to contamination on toads populations closer from pollution source, giving the more than 60 years of exposure to chemical contaminants in the area.

Environmental conflicts and management of marine resources in the Cassurubá Complex, Bahia, Brazil

The Cassurubá Complex, located in the Abrolhos Bank, has the highest concentration of marine biodiversity in Brazil. This region also concentrates on many uses of natural resources, such as shipping of eucalyptus, tourism, and artisanal fishing. In this scenario of diverse territorial configurations, this study seeks to analyze the environmental conflicts that influence the territoriality of artisanal fishermen in the Cassurubá Complex. Based on participant observation (2017–2020), semi-structured interviews (2019), participatory mapping (2019), and focus groups (2019) were developed with 37 artisanal fishermen. The main conflicts highlighted were those between types of fishing equipment (trawling and gillnets, lobster nets and longline) and between the local population and development projects, including conflicts with the pulp sector and the disruption caused by the collapse of the Fundão dam. These conflicts were systematized and analyzed based on category, actors, scope, and arenas of dispute. The loss of fishing territory was noted in the interviews and the main form of resistance on the part of the local population in the face of disputes over resource use and complaints of environmental degradation happens through social movements. Finally, it is necessary that the analysis of environmental conflicts be taken into account when making decisions on local spatial planning.

Brazilian Forest Dataset: A new dataset to model local biodiversity

ABSTRACT The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services have emphasised unequivocal evidences about the impact of human actions on climate and biodiversity at alarming rates. In Brazilian terms, 2019 has been marked by controversial discussions among politicians and environmentalists, leading to misinformation and misinterpretations that clearly motivate the continuous collection and scientific analysis of data to support sustainable solutions. Aiming at dealing with this issue, this manuscript brings two contributions: (i) the creation of the Brazilian Forest Dataset, including Brazilian seed plants, Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation, meteorological and geographical data composing 8,482 attributes to model and predict 20 vegetation types; and (ii) the feasibility analysis on modelling this dataset in light of supervised machine learning algorithms, so we devise confident results on the Brazilian biodiversity. Experimental results confirm Random Forest and Support Vector Machines successfully adjust models, enabling researchers to predict the occurrence of specific types of vegetation in different regions of Brazil as well as analyse how the prediction accuracy changes along time after the collection of new data. Our contributions bring important tools to support the study on the evolution of the Brazilian biodiversity.

Aceitabilidade de preparações culinárias com ora-pro-nóbis por escolares atendidos pelo Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar

Introdução: O apoio ao desenvolvimento sustentável por meio da aquisição de alimentos diversificados e regionais é uma das diretrizes do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar. De grande aplicação culinária, a ora-pro-nóbis é uma planta alimentícia não convencional com elevada densidade nutricional, que pode contribuir para a valorização da biodiversidade brasileira, enriquecimento nutricional da dieta e incentivo à agricultura familiar. Objetivo: O principal objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o potencial de introdução de receitas culinárias do projeto Biodiversidade para Alimentação e Nutrição com ora-pro-nóbis em cardápios do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar, a partir da medida da aceitação de escolares atendidos. Método: Estudo transversal experimental controlado conduzido com escolares de 8-10 anos matriculados em duas escolas municipais de Santos-SP, localizadas em regiões com indicadores sociodemográficos distintos. A escala hedônica facial foi utilizada para avaliar a aceitabilidade do pão e torta de ora-pro-nóbis, e suas respectivas preparações-controle elaboradas com a couve-manteiga. Resultado: As preparações com ora-pro-nóbis melhoraram a densidade de micronutrientes e fibra alimentar. O pão de ora-pro-nóbis foi aceito pelos escolares de menor nível socioeconômico (p<0,05). A análise sensorial das preparações resultou em percentuais de aceitação de 46-72%, insuficientes para sua incorporação no cardápio escolar. Conclusão: A exposição repetida pode ser uma estratégia adotada para a familiarização e melhora da aceitação pelos escolares. Os alimentos da biodiversidade brasileira devem continuar sendo estudados e explorados, pois possuem grande potencial nutricional, contribuem para a valorização de espécies nativas, rompimento da monotonia alimentar, transformação dos sistemas agroalimentares e promoção da segurança alimentar e nutricional.

Known and unknown medicinal plants used in respiratory disorders in Brazilian folk medicine: a brief review

This review aimed to describe some plants used in Brazilian folk medicine in respiratory disorders, highlighting species not well known to the Brazilian citizens. The articles were surveyed in the MEDLINE / PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS / Elsevier, SciELO and Cochrane with the descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS) databases: Medicinal plants, herbal medicine and respiratory diseases with the keywords: secondary metabolites and pulmonary disorders, considering the period from June 2010 to June 2020. The results indicated that species known as Mikania glomerata and Allium sativum, are well studied, presenting a large volume of publications and results on phytochemical and pharmacological aspects. In contrast, lesser-known species of the Brazilian population, such as Amburana cearensis, Hybanthus ipecacuanha, and Jatropha curcas, need more studies, which explore their potential in the medical field. Brazilian biodiversity offers a wide variety of medicinal plants, some of which are better known and studied; others less known and little studied, requiring further investigation in order to provide a scientific basis, both for the isolation and synthesis of molecules and for possible therapeutic applications in different respiratory diseases.

Novel Scaffolds for Leishmania infantum Trypanothione Reductase Inhibitors Derived from Brazilian Natural Products Biodiversity

Background: Leishmania infantum causes the most lethal form of Leishmaniasis: Visceral leishmaniasis. Current therapy for this disease is related to the development of drug-resistant species and toxicity. Trypanothione Reductase (LiTR), a validated target for the drug discovery process, is involved with parasites' thiol-redox metabolism. Objective: In this study, through Virtual Screening employing two distinct Natural Products Brazilian databases, we aimed to identify novel inhibitor scaffolds against LiTR. Results: Thus, the “top 10” LiTR-ligand energies have been selected and their interaction profiles into LiTR sites through the AuPosSOM server have been verified. Finally, Pred-hERG, Aggregator Advisor, FAF-DRUGS, pkCSM and DataWarrior were employed and their results allowed us to evaluate, respectively, the cardiotoxicity, aggregation capacity, presence of false-positive compounds (PAINS) and their toxicities. Conclusion: Three molecules that overcame the in silico pharmacokinetic analysis and have a good interaction with LiTR, were chosen to use in vitro assays hoping that our computational results reported here would aid the development of new anti-leishmanial compounds.

Dehydrobufotenin extracted from the Amazonian toad Rhinella marina (Anura: Bufonidae) as a prototype molecule for the development of antiplasmodial drugs.

Background:The resistance against antimalarial drugs represents a global challenge in the fight and control of malaria. The Brazilian biodiversity can be an important tool for research and development of new medicinal products. In this context, toxinology is a multidisciplinary approach on the development of new drugs, including the isolation, purification, and evaluation of the pharmacological activities of natural toxins. The present study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity, as well as the antimalarial activity in silico and in vitro of four compounds isolated from Rhinella marina venom as potential oral drug prototypes.Methods: Four compounds were challenged against 35 target proteins from P. falciparum and screened to evaluate their physicochemical properties using docking assay in Brazilian Malaria Molecular Targets (BraMMT) software and in silico assay in OCTOPUS® software. The in vitro antimalarial activity of the compounds against the 3D7 Plasmodium falciparum clones were assessed using the SYBR Green I based assay (IC50). For the cytotoxic tests, the LD50 was determined in human pulmonary fibroblast cell line using the [3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay. Results: All compounds presented a ligand-receptor interaction with ten Plasmodium falciparum-related protein targets, as well as antimalarial activity against chloroquine resistant strain (IC50 = 3.44 μM to 19.11 μM). Three of them (dehydrobufotenine, marinobufagin, and bufalin) showed adequate conditions for oral drug prototypes, with satisfactory prediction of absorption, permeability, and absence of toxicity. In the cell viability assay, only dehydrobufotenin was selective for the parasite. Conclusions: Dehydrobufotenin revealed to be a potential oral drug prototype presenting adequate antimalarial activity and absence of cytotoxicity, therefore should be subjected to further studies.

Brazilian passion fruit as a new healthy food: from its composition to health properties and mechanisms of action.

The Brazilian biodiversity is one of the largest in the world, with about 41 000 species cataloged within two global biodiversity hotspots: Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, the Brazilian savannah. Passiflora, known also as passion flowers, is a genus of which 96% of its species are distributed in the Americas, mainly Brazil and Colombia. Passion fruit extracts have a commercial value on a global scale through the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, self-care, and food and beverage industries. Passiflora are widely studied due to their potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, antidepressant and vascular and neuronal protective effects, probably owing to their content of polyphenols. Passiflora setacea DC is a species of wild passion fruit from the Brazilian Cerrado, rich in flavonoid C-glycosides, homoorientin, vitexin, isovitexin and orientin. Intake of these plant food bioactives has been associated with protection against chronic non-communicable diseases (CNDCs), including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we aimed to discuss the varieties of Passiflora, their content in plant food bioactives and their potential molecular mechanisms of action in preventing or reversing CNDCs.

New Law of Brazilian Biodiversity: Legal Aspects and Impact in the Field of Biotechnology.

Access to genetic resources (GR) and/or traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources (ATK) has been regulated in Brazil since 2001. The law 13,123 / 2015 determined a significant change in the theme, mainly on the rules of distribution of benefits obtained for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, the access to technology and technology transfer, the exploitation of products or reproductive material from the GR or ATK and consignment to the outside of part or all the living or dead organism shipped for GR. The implementation of international treaties on GR and ATK for research, biotechnological development and bioprospecting have been causing difficulties for Brazilian researchers, mainly due to the lack of information and dissemination available for compliance with the legislation. In this work, the members of the Committee for Access to Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge of the Federal Fluminense University (UFFGEN) - Brazil, and collaborators performed a critical reflection on the new law, helping Brazilian researchers with information necessary to understand the changes made by the new legislation, especially in the field of Biotechnology associated with Brazilian Biodiversity.

Under the surface: what we know about the threats to subterranean fishes in Brazil

Abstract The present work brings information on threats to the subterranean fishes in Brazil. Currently, at least 36 species are known, 22 of which are already formally described. Endemism is the rule for most of them. Regarding their conservation, these fishes are in general considered threatened: and most of the already formally described species are included in national lists of threatened fauna, and only four of them are included in the global list of the IUCN. Regarding habitats, Brazilian subterranean fishes occur in alluvial sediments (part of the hyporheic zone), shallow base-level streams, flooded caves, lakes in the water table, upper vadose tributaries, and epikarst aquifers. We detected 11 main threats, mainly related to agriculture, pasture, and hydroelectric plans, but unmanaged tourism and pollution are also significant threats. Two threats affect a high number of species (physical change of the habitat and food restriction). The river basins with the higher number of identified threats are the upper Tocantins (eight) followed by the upper Paraguaçu (six). Effective proposals to protect this neglected component of the Brazilian biodiversity are still scarce, such as monitoring projects and their function in the subterranean communities, besides education projects aiming to develop public awareness.

The Program for Biodiversity Research in Brazil: The role of regional networks for biodiversity knowledge, dissemination, and conservation

The Program for Biodiversity Research (PPBio) is an innovative program designed to integrate all biodiversity research stakeholders. Operating since 2004, it has installed long-term ecological research sites throughout Brazil and its logic has been applied in some other southern-hemisphere countries. The program supports all aspects of research necessary to understand biodiversity and the processes that affect it. There are presently 161 sampling sites (see some of them at Supplementary Appendix), most of which use a standardized methodology that allows comparisons across biomes and through time. To date, there are about 1200 publications associated with PPBio that cover topics ranging from natural history to genetics and species distributions. Most of the field data and metadata are available through PPBio web sites or DataONE. Metadata is available for researchers that intend to explore the different faces of Brazilian biodiversity spatio-temporal variation, as well as for managers intending to improve conservation strategies. The Program also fostered, directly and indirectly, local technical capacity building, and supported the training of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. The main challenge is maintaining the long-term funding necessary to understand biodiversity patterns and processes under pressure from global environmental changes.

<i>On the Path of Poisonous Animals</i>: A High School Game for Approaching Venomous Animals, Biotechnology Potential and Biodiversity

Some animals present venom, which is a mixture of several molecules used as a biological weapon against natural enemies or preys. Several of these animals are part of the huge Brazilian biodiversity and these venoms have a huge biotechnological potential as feasible natural drugs for treatment of important diseases such as thrombosis. Since educational games are described as auxiliary tools for teaching complex themes, in this work we constructed a school game about venomous animals including protective instructions when in contact with some of them. The purpose of our game named “On the path of venomous animals” was to teach about this theme. It was constructed based on previous concepts of Brazilian high school students and approaches important topics (e.g.how to act when bitten by snakes) presented in a board format with cards containing the questions to be answered about different situations (luck or mischance). The game requests teacher’s participation, and involves simulations of everyday life situations as well as the risk of encountering a poisonous animal. We tested the game with high school students aged from 16 to 18 years and despite most of them did not know much about these animals they were very interested on them. The use of this playful game as an educational instrument may allow learning about biodiversity whereas enhanced their perception of venom biotechnology potentiality.

Mucilages of cacti from Brazilian biodiversity: Extraction, physicochemical and technological properties

Brazilian cacti have the high potential to be used as a source of mucilages with different technological functions that can be widely explored. The physicochemical, structural and technological properties of mucilages extracted from seven cladodes of cacti native from the semi-arid region of the Brazil were investigated. The mucilages exhibited high yields (8.9 to 21.54%), high contents of carbohydrates (39.77 to 87.68%), proteins (4.27 to 14.76%), and minerals, specifically Ca (2.90 to 15.65%). All species evaluated presented a diverse monosaccharide composition, mainly constituted of galactose and arabinose, suggesting the presence of arabinogalactans as the main polysaccharides. Both showed peaks and bands characteristic of polysaccharides with semi-crystalline structure (14.50–38.60%), due to the high concentration of calcium. From the results, mucilages functional properties showed good water and oil retention capacities and a high emulsification capacity (100%) with stability above 83%. Foaming capacity was above 58% with stability greater than 95%. This study highlights the potential of using cacti as a source of functional mucilages for use in food applications.