The consumption of organic products has increased in recent years. One of the most important products in Mexico is nopal. Nopal’s content and properties make the formulation of edible films possible. In this study, we aimed to develop and characterize biodegradable edible films containing mucilage from Opuntia ficus-indica. The mucilage extraction yield, thickness, color, water vapor permeability, light transmission rate, film transparency, solubility, stability of dispersion, and puncture strength were measured. The use of mucilage from different cultivars affected the water vapor permeability (8.40 × 10−11 g·m−1·s−1·Pa−1 for cultivar Villanueva, 3.48 × 10−11 g·m−1·s−1·Pa−1 for Jalpa, and 1.63 × 10−11 g·m−1·s−1·Pa−1 for Copena F1). Jalpa provided the most soluble mucilage with the highest thickness (0.105 mm). Copena F1 provided the clearest film with the greatest transparency (3.81), the best yellowness index, and the highest resistance (4.44 N·mm−1). Furthermore, this film had the best light transmission rate (48.93%). The Copena F1 showed the best film formation solution viscosity. These results indicate that mucilage mixed with pectin is a potential source for the formulation of edible films.
An interesting component of Opuntia ficus-indica is the mucilage for its properties and industrial uses. However, the great variability of its quantity and quality caused by different growing conditions, the hydroponic system is an alternative. The objective of the present study was cultivating 4 species of Mexican Nopal in a hydroponic system, extract and characterize the mucilage. The characterization consists of pH, ºBrix, colour, proximal analysis, phenols, antioxidant activity, crystallinity, and chemical bonding constituents. ‘Copena F1’ is the best alternative for production of biomass and mucilage. ‘Villanueva’ had high levels of phenols (1,311.83 mg GAE g-1), antioxidant capacity ABTS·+ (6,301.12 mg TE g-1) and FRAP (536.26 mg GAE g-1). A large amount of lipids (1.39%), and nitrogen-free extract (49.27%). The functional groups of the mucilage were identified (-OH, -CH, -CH2, -CH3, C=C, HCH, -CHO) and gypsum, cellulose, SiO2 CaSO4, C2H2K2O5, CaCO3 and CaH2 by X-ray diffraction. The hydroponic system is a viable alternative for production of nopal and mucilage of high-quality mucilage that can be used in several sectors of the industry.
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