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Journal of Food Process Engineering ISSN 1745-4530

EXTRACTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MUCILAGE FROM

WILD SPECIES OF OPUNTIA
SARAHI RODRÍGUEZ-GONZÁLEZ1, HECTOR E. MARTÍNEZ-FLORES2,5, CARLA K. CHÁVEZ-MORENO2,
LOURDES. I. MACÍAS-RODRÍGUEZ3, EDER ZAVALA-MENDOZA1, M.G. GARNICA-ROMO4 and
LUIS CHACÓN-GARCÍA3
1
Programa Institucional de Maestría en Ciencias Biológicas, 2Facultad de Químico Farmacobiología, 3Instituto de Investigaciones en Químico
Biológicas and 4Facultad de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Michoacan 58240, Mexico

5
Corresponding author.
TEL: +52(443)-3142152, Ext. 201;
FAX: +52(443)-3142152, Ext. 201;
EMAIL: hedu65@hotmail.com
Received for Publication December 6, 2013
Accepted for Publication February 7, 2014
doi:10.1111/jfpe.12084
ABSTRACT
The aim of this work was to characterize the mucilage extracted from six species
of Opuntia. The species studied were as follows: O. atropes, O. tomentosa,
O. hyptiacantha, O. streptacantha y O. joconostle and O. ficus-indica. The first step
was to find the best extraction conditions to obtain an unaltered chemical
structure of mucilage. The mucilages were characterized using high-performance
liquid chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques.
The optimal conditions employed to obtain the mucilage were: ratio of
cladodes : ethanol solution at 50% of 1:1 (w/v), temperature of 22C and precipita-
tion of mucilage with a solution of ethanol 96%, at a ratio of 1:4 (v/v). Mucilage
from all species studied had a high content of soluble dietary fiber, ranging from
51.79 to 67.51%. In decreasing order, sugars found in the mucilages were:
L-arabinose (26.83–35.36%), D-galactose (21.59–45.48%), D-xylose (12.23–
17.05%), uronic acids (5.59–13.91%), D-glucose (5.18–16.21%) and L-rhamnose
(1.41–5.40%).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
This research presents an optimization method for the extraction of mucilage five
wild species of cactus based on temperature and time of extraction and solvent
ratio: sample used. Mucilages were characterized chemically and by chromato-
graphic and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques and were com-
pared with the species mucilage Opuntia ficus-indica, the species most
commercially studied. The mucilage obtained can be used for commercial pur-
poses as additives in the food industry.

Mucilage from Opuntia ficus-indica is an interesting ingre-

INTRODUCTION
Food characteristics depend on their chemical components
and sometimes, polysaccharides – such as hydrocolloids –
are those molecules responsible for some physiochemical
and mechanical properties in foods (Medina-Torres et al.
2003). Mucilages from different sources are compounds of
great potential to be applied in food, pharmaceutical and
other industries (Forni et al. 1994; Majdoub et al. 2001;
Ribeiro et al. 2010; Hwan et al. 2013).
dient for the food industry because of its viscosity (Sepúlveda
et al. 2007). It has the capacity to create gels that retain great
quantities of water (Medina-Torres et al. 2003; Sáenz et al.
2004) and also has good emulsifying properties (Medina-
Torres et al. 2003; Sáenz et al. 2004; Bernardino-Nicanor et al.
2013) – being used in the production of edible films
(Del-Valle et al. 2005; Espino-Díaz et al. 2010) – and applied
to encapsulate both Saccharomyces boulardii (Zamora-Vega
et al. 2012) and gallic acid (Medina-Torres et al. 2013).

Journal of Food Process Engineering 37 (2014) 285–292 © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 285
MUCILAGE FROM WILD SPECIES OF OPUNTIA S. RODRÍGUEZ-GONZÁLEZ ET AL.

TABLE 1. CHARACTERIZATION BY CHROMATOGRAPHY OF THE MUCILAGE FROM SIX SPECIES OF OPUNTIA

Authors Gal Ara Xyl Rha Uronic acids Glu Fru Fuc Man
a
McGarvie and Parolis (1981) 18.4 42.4 24.5 6.4 8.4
Trachtenberg and Mayer (1981)a 40.1 24.6 22.2 13.1
Nobel et al. (1992)a 21 42 22 7 8
Medina-Torres et al. (2000)a 17.92 46.68 23.45 6.76 5.19
Matsuhiro et al. (2006) + + + + +
Cárdenas et al. (2008)a 7 6 1 0.6 85.4
Ginestra et al. (2009) + + + + + + + +
Ribeiro et al. (2010) + + + + + +

Ara, arabinose; Fru, fructose; Fuc, fucose; Gal, galactose; Gluc, glucose; Man, manose; Ram, rhamnose; Xyl, xylose.
a
Expressed as percentage.

A molecule of mucilage from O. ficus-indica can contain
more than 30,000 sugar subunits or residues (McGarvie and
Parolis 1981; Gibson and Nobel 1990; Medina-Torres et al.
2000). It is a polysaccharide with a reported molecular
weight of 2.3 × 104 to 4.3 × 106 Daltons (Trachtenberg and
Mayer 1982; Medina-Torres et al. 2000). Mucilage repre-
sents about 14% dry basis in nopal cladodes (Ginestra et al.
2009). The sugars found in mucilage are arabinose (35–
40%), galactose (20–25%), rhamnose (7–8%), xylose (20–
25%) and uronic acids (7–8%) (Gibson and Nobel 1990).
According to McGarvie and Parolis (1981), a hypothetical
model of the mucilage from O. ficus-indica consists of alter-
nating rhamnose and galacturonic acid residues, attached to
the side chains composed of three galactose residues.
Arabinose and xylose sugars are branches on the galactose
side chains. In general, xylose appears to be joined to
arabinose, which is then bonded to galactose. Some galac-
tose side chains have arabinose but not xylose, and some
have one xylose with two arabinose residues. The mucilage
from other species of the Opuntia is composed of the same
sugar residues. However, the residues are present in different
ratios than for the O. ficus-indica. Mucilage molecules tend
to be negatively charged, because hydrogen ions can dissoci-
ate from their carboxylic part of the galacturonic acids
(Gibson and Nobel 1990). This is important, because some
physiochemical properties of the mucilage are dependent
on the ionized form of the carboxylic group. According to
Cárdenas et al. (2008), the rheological properties, mainly
the intrinsic viscosity of mucilage, are dependent on their
chemical composition, pH, sterification degree and the
presence of calcium ions. Mucilage is a compound of a low
degree of esterification (DE) (Cárdenas et al. 2008).
Some authors studied the sugar composition of mucilage
from O. ficus-indica normally using chromatography tech-
niques (Table 1). The objective of this work was to charac-
terize the profile of the sugar composition of mucilage from
six species of Opuntia collected in Michoacán, México. Five
of the specimens studied were from wild species and were
compared with the species most studied in the world,
O. ficus-indica. The mucilages from the wild species of
Opuntia could be used as potential ingredients in the food
industry.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Materials
The studied species O. atropes, O. hyptiacantha, O. joconostle,
O. streptacantha, O. tomentosa and O. ficus-indica grown in
the Morelia area (Michoacán State, México) were harvested
in May of 2011. Cladodes (pads) had two ages at the time of
collection.
Mucilage Extraction Procedures
Three methods were evaluated for mucilage extraction. The
objective of testing by three methods was to find the best
extraction conditions without causing damage to the native
structure of the mucilage. The methods are described as
follows: (1) Fresh cladodes were mixed for 1 min in a
blender with water in a ratio of 1:8 (w/v). Then, suspension
was maintained at 83C for 2 h. Afterwards suspension was
centrifuged at 3,500 rpm for 15 min. The supernatant was
added with ethanol 96% in a ratio of 1:4 (v/v). Mucilage
mass was separated by centrifugation at 3,500 rpm for
15 min (a method proposed by Zavala 2012). (2) Fresh
cladodes were mixed for 1 min in a blender with water in a
ratio of 1:2 (w/v). Then, suspension was maintained at 83C
for 1 h. Following that, suspension was centrifuged at
3,500 rpm for 15 min. The supernatant was added with
ethanol 96% in a ratio of 1:4 (v/v). Mucilage mass was sepa-
rated by centrifugation at 3,500 rpm for 15 min (a method
proposed by Rodríguez 2010); and (3) Fresh cladodes were
mixed for 1 min in a blender with ethanol solution 50% in a
ratio of 1:1 (w/v). Then, suspension maintained at 22C was
centrifuged at 3,500 rpm for 15 min. The supernatant was
added with ethanol 96% in a ratio of 1:4 (v/v). Mucilage
mass was separated by centrifugation at 3,500 rpm for

286 Journal of Food Process Engineering 37 (2014) 285–292 © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
S. RODRÍGUEZ-GONZÁLEZ ET AL. MUCILAGE FROM WILD SPECIES OF OPUNTIA

15 min (a modified method proposed by our group

research). The mucilage mass obtained by the three
methods was dried and stored at 4C until their analysis.

Chemical Composition
Moisture, ash, protein and fat content of mucilages were
determined by methods 925.45, 945.18, 955.04 and 920.39
of the AOAC (2005), respectively. The protein quantity was
calculated by multiplying the nitrogen content using the
Kjeldahl method by the coefficient 5.73. Total dietary fiber
(TDF), soluble fiber (SF) and insoluble fiber (IF) was
carried out using the method of Prosky et al. (1998). Total
available carbohydrates (Anthrone method) were deter-
mined according to the method reported in AOAC (1990).

Thin Layer Chromatography

Mucilage was evaluated by thin layer chromatography
(TLC) according to the method proposed by Ribeiro et al.
(2010). Dried mucilage of each species of Opuntia was sus-
pended in deionized water and placed on silica gel plates
that have been immersed in a TLC chamber. The elution
system used for monosaccharides was acetone/n-butanol/
water (80:10:10 v/v/v), and revealed with 2% diphenylamine
prepared in acetone, 2% aniline prepared in acetone and
85% orthophosphoric acid (5:5:1 v/v/v). The standards
employed were D-galactose, D-xylose, L-arabinose,
D-glucose, fructose L-rhamnose and sucrose. For the acid
sugars (glucuronic acid and galacturonic acid), the elution
system used was chloroform/methanol/acetic acid/water
(40:40:10:10 v/v/v/v) and revealed with 2% diphenylamine FIG. 1. PROCEDURE OF ANALYSIS OF GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY TO
prepared in acetone, 2% aniline prepared in acetone and DETERMINE THE SUGAR COMPOSITION OF MUCILAGES EXTRACTED
85% orthophosphoric acid (5:5:1 v/v/v). FROM OPUNTIA FICUS-INDICA

(Bruker Optics, Inc., Billerica, MA). The frequency range

Gas Chromatography
Gas chromatography (GC) was carried out using an Agilent
6859 Series II provided with a detector MS Agilent 5973 (Palo
Alto, CA). The GC procedure of the extracts is described in
Fig. 1, based on the method proposed by Macías-Rodríguez
et al. (2002), Habibi et al. (2004) and Ribeiro et al. (2010).
The standards used were D-galactose, D-xylose, L-arabinose,
D-glucose, fructose, L-rhamnose and sucrose.
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
used was between 400 and 4,000 cm−1.
Statistical Analysis
Statistical analysis of data was performed through analysis
of variance (ANOVA) using the statistical software JMP V.
6.0 Statistical Discovery from SAS Institute, Inc. (Cary, NC).
Tukey–Kramer (P < 0.05) multiple comparison tests were
used to compare species of Opuntia when statistical signifi-
cance in species was found in general ANOVA (P < 0.05).
All experiments were conducted in triplicate.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was per-

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
formed on the mucilages obtained from the six species of
Opuntia. For this procedure, 0.3 g of dry potassium
Chemical Composition
bromide was mixed with 0.02 g of each dry sample and then
compressed with a 3-ton force for 1 min. The samples were The chemical composition of mucilage from six species of
analyzed in a Bruker Tensor 27 FTIR spectrophotometer Opuntia is shown in Table 2. Mucilage content varied widely

Journal of Food Process Engineering 37 (2014) 285–292 © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 287
MUCILAGE FROM WILD SPECIES OF OPUNTIA S. RODRÍGUEZ-GONZÁLEZ ET AL.

TABLE 2. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF MUCILAGE EXTRACTED FROM SIX SPECIES OF OPUNTIA

Opuntia Opuntia Opuntia Opuntia Opuntia Opuntia

Chemical component tomentosa atropes hyptiacantha joconostle streptacantha ficus-indica
Moisture 6.32c 7.62b 8.27a 6.32c 3.44e 5.39d
Total dietary fiber 68.43ab 57.71b 73.01a 65.20ab 67.44ab 57.23b
Soluble fiber 64.40a 57.69ab 67.51a 65.12a 61.07ab 51.79b
Insoluble fiber 4.03a 0.03b 5.50a 0.08b 6.37a 5.43a
Ash 11.26d 14.01b 10.82e 11.72c 14.19b 15.13a
Calcium (g/100 g) 3.78b 7.44a 3.2b 1.23c 6.87a 4.53b
Protein 5.59cd 4.01e 6.38bc 6.70b 8.26a 5.24d
Fat 0.16a 0.06b 0.06b 0.20a 0.19a 0.09b
Total carbohydrates 8.24abc 16.59a 1.46bc 9.86abc 6.48c 16.92ab

a–d Different letters in the same row are significant differences between means of species.

(P < 0.05) in all species. The main chemical component of
the six species of Opuntia was the TDF. The highest value of
TDF was seen in the species O. hyptiacantha (73.01%) fol-
lowed by O. tomentosa (68.43%), O. streptacantha (67.44%),
O. joconostle (65.2%), O. atropes (57.71%) and O. ficus-
indica (57.23%). The TDF value obtained in this study was
similar (57.83%) to that documented by Rodríguez (2010)
for O. ficus-indica. Most of the TDF corresponded to the SF
fraction. The O. hyptiacantha had the highest value of SF
(67.51%) and did not show a significant difference
(P < 0.05) as compared with O. joconostle (65.12%) and
O. tomentosa (64.04%), and only presented a partial differ-
ence (P < 0.05) with respect to the O. streptacantha
(61.07%) and O. atropes (57.69%) species. The O. ficus-
indica species had the lowest SF value (51.79%). This result
was similar to the SF value (56.80%) reported by Rodríguez
(2010) for the O. ficus-indica species. The IF values in the
mucilage species were as follows: 6.37%, 5.50%, 5.43%,
4.03%, 0.08% and 0.03%, respectively, for O. streptacantha,
O. hyptiacantha, O. ficus-indica, O. tomentosa, O. joconostle
and O. atropes. The ash content for the mucilages varied
from 10.82% (O. hyptiacantha) to 15.13% (O. ficus-indica).
In general, the ash content in O. ficus-indica obtained in this
study was similar to that documented by Rodríguez (2010),
who reported 11.91%; however, our results are different
from those found by Sepúlveda et al. (2007), who report an
average value of 37.3%. Calcium content was the predomi-
nant mineral in the mucilages. The highest calcium values
were for O. atropes (7.44 g/100 g) and O. streptacantha
(6.87 g/100 g). The protein content found in the mucilages
ranged from 4.01% in O. atropes to 8.26% in
O. streptacantha. O. ficus-indica showed a value of 5.24%.
Sepúlveda et al. (2007) report an average protein value of
7.3% for O. ficus-indica, meanwhile Rodríguez (2010)
reports a value of 6.69%, and both values were slightly
lower than our results. The fat content was as much as 0.2%
or lower in the mucilage extracted from the six species of
Opuntia studied. Total carbohydrates obtained in this study
was as follows: O. atropes 18.67%, O. ficus-indica 14.67%,
O. joconostle 9.82%, O. tomentosa 8.21%, O. hyptiacantha
6.25% and O. streptacantha 1.62%.
TLC
Table 3 shows the monosaccharides, uronic acids and the
mucilage detected by TLC. The presence of free monosac-
charides (mainly D-xylose) was observed in the methods of
Rodríguez (2010) and Zavala (2012). The temperature,
extraction time and ratio of cladodes : water used by
Rodríguez (2010) and Zavala (2012) could have hidrolyzed
the native structure of mucilages during the extraction
process releasing some monosaccharides and uronic acids.

TABLE 3. DETERMINATION OF SUGARS AND URONIC ACIDS IN MUCILAGE EXTRACTED FROM SIX SPECIES OF OPUNTIA (%)

Species of Opuntia
Opuntia Opuntia Opuntia Opuntia Opuntia Opuntia
Sugar tomentosa atropes hyptiacantha joconostle streptacantha ficus-indica
L-arabinose 33.50ab 34.36a 32.82ab 26.83c 30.43b 35.36a
D-galactose 21.59d 26.75c 30.83b 45.48a 31.83b 27.26c
D-xylose 16.02a 16.62a 17.05a 12.23c 14.04b 16.32a
D-glucose 16.21a 9.05c 6.03de 7.13d 11.81b 5.18e
L-rhamnose 2.58c 1.44e 1.41e 4.09b 5.40a 1.93d
Uronic acids 11.80b 11.76b 11.84b 5.59d 8.26c 13.91a

Different letters in the same row are significant differences between means in species.

288 Journal of Food Process Engineering 37 (2014) 285–292 © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
S. RODRÍGUEZ-GONZÁLEZ ET AL.
FIG. 2. CHROMATOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF
THE SUGARS IDENTIFIED IN MUCILAGES
EXTRACTED FROM OPUNTIA
HYPTIACANTHA AND O. FICUS-INDICA
The differences in the processes employed by Rodríguez
(2010) and Zavala (2012) were as follows: Rodríguez (2010)
used a ratio of cladodes : water of 1:2 (w/v) and the extrac-
tion time was 1 h. Meanwhile, Zavala (2012) used a ratio
cladodes : water of 1:8 (w:v) and an extraction time of 2 h.
Both methods employed 83C to extract the mucilage. On
the other hand, in the modified method, neither the pres-
ence of free monosaccharides nor uronic acids was observed
only the presence of mucilage. This method uses a ratio
cladodes : ethanol at 50% of 1:1 at a temperature of 22C,
and no extraction time was used. For this reason, we used
the mucilage extracted from modified method to character-
ize their sugars profile by gas chromatogram.
Gas Chromatogram
The chromatograms (Fig. 2) showed the presence of
D-galactose, L-arabinose, L-rhamnose, D-xylose, D-glucose
and uronic acids, in all samples of mucilages extracted, using
the modified method. We select only the chromatogram of
two species because the chromatogram peaks of the sugars
detected can be better observed. Our results agree with those
obtained by Ginestra et al. (2009), Habibi et al. (2004),
Majdoub et al. (2010) and Ribeiro et al. (2010).
The most abundant sugars contained in the mucilages
(in decreasing order, Table 3) were as follows: L-arabinose
(26.83–35.36%), D-galactose (21.59–45.48%), D-xylose
(12.23–17.05%), uronic acids (5.59–13.91%), D-glucose
(5.18–16.21%) and L-rhamnose (1.41–5.40%). This abun-
dance order for all species of Opuntia obtained in our study
was similar to the values documented by Nobel et al. (1992)
Journal of Food Process Engineering 37 (2014) 285–292 © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
MUCILAGE FROM WILD SPECIES OF OPUNTIA
and Trachtenberg and Mayer (1981), and is different
from those reported by McGarvie and Parolis (1981),
Medina-Torres et al. (2000), Habibi et al. (2004), and
Majdoub et al. (2010) for mucilage from O. ficus-indica.
The differences in sugar composition in mucilages reported
by different authors for O. ficus-indica could vary, depend-
ing on the source and conditions of extraction, location
and other environmental factors such as age of the
cladodes, climatic conditions and soil where the Opuntia
grow – as was indicated by Cárdenas et al. (1997), Ribeiro
et al. (2010), Majdoub et al. (2010) and Guevara-Arauza
et al. (2012).
Statistical analysis shows a highly significant effect
(P < 0.001) on the species depending on sugar content. The
D-galactose content in mucilage obtained from O. joconostle
(45.48%) was higher (P < 0.05) than the other Opuntia
species. The lowest value corresponded to O. tomentosa
(21.59%). The highest value of glucose was observed
in O. tomentosa (16.21%) (P ≤ 0.05), followed by O.
streptacantha (11.81%) and O. atropes (9.05%). The lowest
was observed in O. ficus-indica (5.18%). Some authors such
as McGarvie and Parolis (1981) and Gibson and Nobel
(1990) did not discover the presence of D-glucose in the
mucilage of O. ficus-indica. However, several authors did
document the presence of glucose (Habibi et al. 2004;
Ginestra et al. 2009; Majdoub et al. 2010 and Ribeiro et al.
2010). The values of D-glucose obtained by these authors
are lower than our results. The higher values of L-rhamnose
(P < 0.05) correspond to the mucilage from O. streptacantha
(5.40%). The lowest L-rhamnose values (P < 0.05) were
found in O. hyptiacantha (1.41%) and O. atropes (1.44%).
289
MUCILAGE FROM WILD SPECIES OF OPUNTIA S. RODRÍGUEZ-GONZÁLEZ ET AL.

The predominant sugar found in the mucilages was L-

arabinose. O.ficus-indica (35.35%) and O. atropes (34.36%)
had the highest values of L-arabinose and partial dif-
ferences (P < 0.05) were found between these species
with respect to O. tomentosa (33.50%) and O. hyptiacantha
(32.82%). According to the hypothetical structure of the
mucilage of O. ficus-indica (McGarvie and Parolis 1981;
Gibson and Nobel 1990), the branches of the main chain of
the mucilage are formed by three D-galactose units that are
joined to residues of arabinose and D-xylose. Therefore,
L-arabinose is the most abundant sugar in the chemical
structure of mucilage. The functional groups of arabinose
and D-xylose are more disposed to interact in an intermo-
lecular form. Under these conditions, probably the viscosity
generated could be higher when mucilage is exposed to
water. This signifies that mucilage with higher L-arabinose
contents could possibly generate increased viscosity suspen-
sions as compared with mucilages with lower L-rabinose FIG. 3. FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY SPECTRUM
OF THE MUCILAGES EXTRACTED FROM SIX SPECIES OF OPUNTIA
contents.
We found higher acid uronics in mucilage from O. ficus-
indica (13.91%) which were significantly different
(P < 0.05) from the other mucilages. Also, a high content of (2008). Also, in our mucilage samples, there is no evidence
uronic acids was observed in O. hyptacanthia (11.84%), of the band at 1,749 cm−1 that is characteristic of mucilage
O. tomentosa (11.80%) and O. atropes (11.76%) where sig- with high DE. The low DE of mucilage is important because
nificant differences (P < 0.05) in these mucilages. The the carboxyl groups are free and are able to interact with
uronic acid content is also a molecule of great importance water molecules, and thus have a high capacity for water
to generate viscous solutions, because the carboxyl groups absorption. Furthermore, the free carboxyl groups can bind
are able to interact with water molecules or with certain with calcium ions and other mucilage molecules to form
cations, such as calcium. Consequently, we can assume that viscous structural networks in the presence of water. This is
suspensions of mucilage from all species of Opuntia have a very useful for the food industry using such additives to
higher level of negative charges capable of interacting with enhance properties of viscosity and texture in food.
calcium ions causing an increase in the viscosity. Also, a band at 3405.68 cm−1 was found, which corre-
sponds to OH stretching of alcohol and carboxylic acid
–OH groups involved in intermolecular hydrogen bonding
FTIR of mucilage molecules, as mentioned by Habibi et al.
FTIR spectra provide a chemical fingerprint of materials by (2004). Another band was found at 2933.35 cm−1, which
correlating their absorption frequencies with known corresponded to the vibrations of –CH and –CH2 present in
absorption frequencies of bonds. The spectra of mucilages the mucilage molecule. Furthermore, some bands were
from the six samples of Opuntia, shown in Fig. 3, represent observed at 1324.29–1252.34 cm−1 associated with the vibra-
the characteristic frequencies of the functional groups asso- tion δC–H, δCH2 and δO–H related to mucilages, according
ciated with mucilages, such as, carboxylic acid, carboxylate, to Habibi et al. (2004), as well as the bands found in the
ether and alcohol groups. region of 1084.27–1046.47 cm−1 that can be attributed to
The same number and intensity of bands studied by FTIR vibrations of C–C and C–O of the mucilage molecules
were found in our mucilages obtained from the six species (Fig. 3).
of Opuntia (Fig. 3). In the mucilage spectrum there are two
bands at 1,423 and 1,625 cm−1 associated with the
CONCLUSIONS
antisymmetric and symmetric COO- stretch typical of car-
boxylic acid salts present in mucilage, as indicated by Fox The optimal conditions for extracting mucilage were
et al. (2012). The bands corresponded to the ionized form, proved. Mucilage of the six species of Opuntia had the same
no esterified, of carboxylic group (Habibi et al. 2004; type of sugar; however, the amount varies in proportion as
Cárdenas et al. 2008). We can assume that the mucilage to the function of species studied. The sugars found in
molecules from the six species of Opuntia had a low DE, as greatest proportion in all species were L-arabinose,
was reported by Sáenz et al. (2004) and Cárdenas et al. D-galactose, D-xylose, uronic acid, D-glucose and L-

290 Journal of Food Process Engineering 37 (2014) 285–292 © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
S. RODRÍGUEZ-GONZÁLEZ ET AL.
rhamnose. The mucilage studied from wild species contains
a higher content of FD and FS than the commercial species
O. ficus-indica. All species of Opuntia had low DE evidenced
by FTIR studies. For this reason, the mucilage of the five
wild species could also be exploited to produce hydro-
colloids of importance in the food industry. We recom-
mended studies of viscosity and emulsifying properties of
mucilages from wild species to propose specific uses.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Coordinación de la
Investigación Cientifica. Universidad Michoacana de San
Nicolás de Hidalgo (CIC-UMSNH), project 26.1, 2012.
Sarahí Rodríguez González and Eder Zavala Mendoza wish
to thank CONACyT for the scholarship received for MSc
studies.
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