Influence of irrigation, cladode size, harvest time and addition of citric acid on the properties of cactus mucilage
Abstract
Cactus is a highly resistant crop, and offers benefits in its mucilage for the industry due to its physicochemical properties. This study aimed to analyze the effect of irrigation managements, harvest time, cladode size and citric acid addition during the processing on the agro-industrial yield and physicochemical properties of mucilage extracted from cladodes of Nopalea cochenillifera Miúda clone cultivated under rainfed and irrigated conditions. The yield, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pH, K+ and Na+ contents, and the electrical conductivity were measured in the mucilage. The management practices in the field resulted in changes in the studied phytochemicals. For the rainfed cultivation, the night harvest of the biggest cladodes increased the K+ and soluble solids contents. The addition of citric acid to the mucilage extraction resulted in higher amounts of soluble solids, titratable acidity and electrical conductivity and lower pH values. The highest water availability promoted higher mucilage yields.
KEYWORDS: Nopalea cochenillifera (L.) Salm-Dyck, Cactaceae, hydrocolloid, titratable acidity.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors will not be paid for published articles and must waive their copyright in favor of the PAT journal. On the other hand, they are solely responsible for the content of those articles, even if the Editor holds the right to adjust them to the norms of the journal. Authors are allowed to publish their articles simultaneously in their institutional repositories, as soon as the original publication at the PAT journal is mentioned.