Neutral and Pectic Heteropolysaccharides Isolated from Opuntia joconostle Mucilage: Composition, Molecular Dimensions and Prebiotic Potential

Opuntia joconostle is a semi-wild cactus cultivated for its fruit. However, the cladodes are often discarded, wasting the potentially useful mucilage in them. The mucilage is composed primarily of heteropolysaccharides, characterized by their molar mass distribution, monosaccharide composition, structural features (by vibrational spectroscopy, FT IR, and atomic force microscopy, AFM), and fermentability by known saccharolytic commensal members of the gut microbiota. After fractionation with ion exchange chromatography, four polysaccharides were found: one neutral (composed mainly of galactose, arabinose, and xylose) and three acidic, with a galacturonic acid content from 10 to 35%mol. Their average molar masses ranged from 1.8 × 105 to 2.8 × 105 g·mol-1. Distinct structural features such as galactan, arabinan, xylan, and galacturonan motifs were present in the FT IR spectra. The intra- and intermolecular interactions of the polysaccharides, and their effect on the aggregation behavior, were shown by AFM. The composition and structural features of these polysaccharides were reflected in their prebiotic potential. Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria were not able to utilize them, whereas members of Bacteroidetes showed utilization capacity. The obtained data suggest a high economic potential for this Opuntia species, with potential uses such as animal feed in arid areas, precise prebiotic, and symbiotic formulations, or as the carbon skeleton source in a green refinery. Our methodology can be used to evaluate the saccharides as the phenotype of interest, helping to guide the breeding strategy.