Prebiotic potential and chemical characterization of the poly and oligosaccharides present in the mucilage of Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia joconostle

• Published in: Food chemistry Vol. 362; p. 130167
• Main Authors: Cruz-Rubio, José M., Mueller, Monika, Viernstein, Helmut, Loeppert, Renate, Praznik, Werner
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 15-11-2021
• Subjects: Arabinose - analysis; Dietary fiber; Fermentation; Galactose - analysis; Gastrointestinal microbiome; Heteropolysaccharides; Hexuronic Acids - analysis; Monosaccharides - analysis; Nopal; Oligosaccharides - analysis; Oligosaccharides - chemistry; Oligosaccharides - metabolism; Opuntia - chemistry; Pectic substances; Plant Mucilage - chemistry; Polysaccharides - analysis; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Polysaccharides - metabolism; Prebiotics; Prebiotics - analysis; Probiotics - metabolism; Heteropolysaccharides; Pectic substances; Dietary fiber; Nopal; Gastrointestinal microbiome; Prebiotics
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130167

•Mucilages from two Opuntia spp. were separated into three fractions.•Two fractions include high M̅w heteropolysaccharides (4.0 × 103 to 8.0 × 105 g∙mol−1).•Previously undescribed oligosaccharides were found bound to the mucilage.•Complex-structured β-(1–4) linked heterogalactooligosaccharides were found.•Most of the carbohydrate fractions show prebiotic potential.
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.