Chemical composition, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities of Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. mucilage collected in Sicily, Italy
Michela Di Napoli, Natale Badalamenti, Giusy Castagliuolo, Rosalia Merra, Mario Varcamonti, Anna Zanfardino, Maurizio Bruno, Francesco Sottile
Abstract
In this work the mucilage obtained from the cladodes of a not previously investigated accession of Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. (syn. Opuntia dillenii (Ker-Gawl) Haw), collected in Sicily, was analysed by 13C-NMR. The yield of mucilage extracted from cladodes in aqueous medium was 2.55%. The monosaccharides identified, after acidic hydrolyses of the mucilage, were arabinose (36.48%), galactose (32.31%), xylose (15.33%), glucose (10.45%) and rhamnose (5.40%). The mucilage showed a sufficient antimicrobial activity and excellent antioxidant property.
Topics & Concepts
MucilageCladodesBotanyAntioxidantArabinoseFood scienceAntimicrobialMonosaccharideTraditional medicineChemistryBiologyXyloseCactusBiochemistryMicrobiologyMedicineFermentationBotanical Research and ApplicationsAlgal biology and biofuel productionPolysaccharides Composition and Applications