Extracción, purificación y evaluación de inulina proveniente de la jícama (Smallanthus sonchifolius) y fruto de tuna (Opuntia ficus) en tres especies de microorganismos Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces boulardii, y Bifidobacterium longum

Abstract

Currently, food industrialization is more refined, generating products with low nutritional value. Causing the immune system to weaken and various gastrointestinal pathologies to appear. Therefore, it is recommended to include soluble fibers such as inulin in the diet. Jicama is made up of 14 percent carbohydrates and about 40 to 70 percent FOS. While prickly pear has 10 to 15 percent carbohydrates, among which inulin stands out. This study focused on obtaining inulin from jicama root and prickly pear fruit, in order to find new sources. Two extraction methods were applied, solid-liquid extraction which is based on the crushing of the raw material, followed by the addition of buffer at elevated temperatures of 80 degrees Celsius and ultrasound extraction which consisted of the application of sound waves of high frequency at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. The influence of inulin from prickly pear and jicama on the growth rate and generation time of the probiotic microorganisms Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces boulardii, and Bifidobacterium longum was evaluated. Lactobacillus acidophilus was the one that had a shorter generation time of 6.80 minutes with inulin from jicama with the ultrasound extraction method. It was determined that the best treatment is jicama with the ultrasound extraction method due to its operating factors.