Physicochemical and rheological characterization of Opuntia ficus mucilage at three different maturity stages of cladode

• Physicochemical and rheological characterization of mucilage was done.
• Extraction method is higher in yield and friendlier than others methods reported.
• Nopal mucilage with different stage shows changes in its rheological properties.
• XRD shows the presence of calcium carbonate, this is bioavailable for human body.
• These findings show wide potential uses of this biopolymer in different industries.

The Opuntia ficus indica is a family of plants that has diverse uses. An interesting component of these plants is the mucilage. Mucilages are hetero-polysaccharide hydrocolloids with an extensive range of physicochemical properties which can be exploited for various applications in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industry. The objective of the present research is to characterize the physicochemical and rheological properties of mucilage extracted from O. ficus indica at three different maturity stages. The mucilage was isolated from cladodes of O. ficus indica. The physicochemical characterization was carried out by X-ray Diffraction and Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy; additionally, color, pH, and yield extractions of mucilage samples were determined. The rheological characterization was performed through steady-shear viscosity as well as through small strain oscillatory shear tests on suspensions of different concentration of mucilage. The results indicate that yield extraction of mucilage was higher than others previously reported. X-ray Diffraction analysis shows the presence of calcium carbonate in two different crystalline forms, the importance of this finding lies in that the calcium of these compounds is bioavailable for the human body. This fact could lead to new and important applications of mucilage from nopal in the food industry. Color analysis indicates that the samples were lighter and yellow-green hue. pH determination reveals that mucilage suspensions are slightly acidic. All the samples show a non-Newtonian shear-thinning behavior with a good correlation to Ostwald de Waele model. Mucilage extracted of cladodes with different maturity stages shows changes in its rheological properties. Mucilage aqueous suspensions showed high elastic properties, especially at 100 days of maturity.

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