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.

Nutraceutical properties of flour and tortillas made with an ecological nixtamalization process.

The traditional nixtamalization (TN) process, used for obtaining maize-based products, negatively affects bioactive compounds because of its highly alkaline pH. Recently, an ecological nixtamalization (EN) process has been developed that retains the pericarp and maintains the nejayote (wastewater) within the acidic-neutral range. This study examines the effect of pH on the nutraceutical compounds (NC) of maize, such as polyphenolics and anthocyanins (ANT), as well as the effect on the antioxidant capacity (AC).