Evolution of Fructans in Aguamiel (Agave Sap) During the Plant Production Lifetime

• Published in: Frontiers in nutrition (Lausanne) Vol. 7; p. 566950
• Main Authors: Peralta-García, Ibeth, González-Muñoz, Fernando, Elena, Rodríguez-Alegría María, Sánchez-Flores, Alejandro, López Munguía, Agustín
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 08-10-2020
• Subjects: aguamiel; fructans; metzal; Nutrition; pine; pulque; scraped
• ISSN: 2296-861X; 2296-861X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2020.566950

Aguamiel
is the sap collected from
agave
, while
pulque
is the result of the natural fermentation of
aguamiel
. Despite its ancestral origin and numerous publications on
pulque
production, little is known about the evolution and concentration of sugars and fructo-oligosaccharides in
aguamiel
, either during its daily accumulation or through the agave production lifetime. In this study, we examined
aguamiel
composition in three agave plants during their productive lifetime (4 to 9 months). After each collection, the agave pine is scraped to induce
aguamiel
to flow into an internally created cavity (
cajete
), producing a residual bagasse (
metzal
). We found that the concentration of agave fructans and sucrose, as well as the fructan profile, change during the
aguamiel
production process. During the daily collection, a small amount of agave fructans released from the pine by scraping is drawn into the
cajete
with the first milliliters of sap where it is then diluted with the inflow of
aguamiel
. The main component of
aguamiel
is the sucrose produced in high concentration in the leaves through photosynthesis and then hydrolyzed in the
cajete
as
aguamiel
accumulates. We also describe how the fructan profile changes during the accumulation of
aguamiel
in the
cajete
. In addition to the varying amount of sucrose that is hydrolyzed in the
aguamiel
accumulated, we found that fructo-oligosaccharides are either diluted, consumed, or hydrolyzed, depending on the plant and its production stage, thus yielding different fructan profiles. New fructo-oligosaccharides are, in some cases, synthesized by bacteria present in
aguamiel
. These profiles were also observed in
aguamiel
collected from ten different plants in the same production region. We also found that a considerable amount of agave fructans is lost in
metzal
(bagasse), the agave material that is scraped and thrown away twice a day during the production process.