Agave fructans: a review of their technological functionality and extraction processes.

Fructans are a polydisperse mixture of fructose polymers generally bound to a glucose molecule, in recent years, interest in their use has grown, either as a potential ingredient in functional foods or for their technological properties. The diversity of its applications lies in its structure and origin. Until now, the scientific approach has been more focused on inulin-type fructans and not so much on the effect of those of mixed branched structure as agave fructans.

Comparative study of four extraction methods of fructans (agavins) from Agave durangensis: Heat treatment, ultrasound, microwave and simultaneous ultrasound-microwave.

Agavins (fructans from the agave plant) are used for their technological and prebiotic properties in developing functional foods. In this study, four extraction methods were evaluated: ultrasound (U), microwave (M), simultaneous ultrasound-microwave (UM), and heat treatment (HT). Isomers with a degree of polymerization (DP) > 10, as well as a significant concentration of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) were identified.