Opuntia mucilage extraction techniques: analysis of yield and quality.

Mucilage is a natural polymer obtained from plants belonging to botanical families such as Plantaginaceae, Malvaceae, Linaceae and Cactaceae. The Opuntioideae subfamily has been the most studied among the Cactaceae due to its wide availability, adaptability and high tolerance to adverse environmental conditions. However, its low extraction yield is the main limitation of scaling up mucilage production.