Title
Prebiotic potential and chemical characterization of the poly and oligosaccharides present in the mucilage of Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia joconostle
Author
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Abstract
The mucilage extracted from the convection-dried cladodes of O. ficus-indica and O. joconostle, two species of economic importance, delivered three fractions after methanol precipitation. Two were composed of high molar mass polysaccharides, and one included water-soluble mono-, di-, and oligosaccharides. The large polysaccharides have a molar mass range of 4.0 × 10³ to 8.0 × 10⁵ g·mol⁻¹ and are consistently composed of galactose, arabinose, xylose, and rhamnose; however, the content of galacturonic acid was different between both fractions and species. Their fermentability by selected probiotics was relatively low, 11–27 % compared to glucose, and decreased with increasing levels of galacturonic acid in the molecules. In the third fraction, previously unreported oligosaccharides were found. These include simple- and complex-structured galactooligosaccharides with arabinosyl-, xylosyl- and galacturonosyl acid residues. Their fermentability by prebiotic species can be ascribed more to their structural characteristics and monosaccharide composition than their molecular dimensions.
Keywords
NopalHeteropolysaccharidesPectic substancesDietary fiberGastrointestinal microbiomePrebiotics
Object type
Language
English [eng]
Persistent identifier
Appeared in
Title
Food Chemistry
Volume
362
ISSN
0308-8146
Issued
2021
Publication
Elsevier BV
Version type
Date issued
2021
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