Depolymerization of polysaccharides from Opuntia ficus indica: Antioxidant and antiglycated activities

Mohamed Aymen Chaouch (1) , Jawhar Hafsa (2) , Christophe Rihouey (3) , Didier Le Cerf (3) , Hatem Majdoub (1)

1 LIMA - Laboratoire des Interfaces et Matériaux Avancés [Monastir]
2 Université de Sousse
3 PBS - Polymères Biopolymères Surfaces

The extraction, purification and degradation of polysaccharides from Opuntia ficus indica cladodes, as well as the evaluation of their antioxidant and antiglycated activities in vitro were investigated. The optimization of the extraction showed that extraction by ultrasound at 40 °C presented the best carbohydrates yield. The degradation of the extracted polysaccharides was achieved by free radical depolymerization with H2O2 in the presence of copper(II) acetate for various reaction times. Sugar contents were determined by colorimetric assays. The macromolecular characteristics of the different isolated and degraded carbohydrates were carried by size exclusion chromatography (SEC/MALS/VD/DRI). These experiments showed that all samples are polysaccharides, which are probably pectins and that molecular weight (Mw) has decreased from 6,800,000 to 14,000 g/mol after 3 h of depolymerization without changing the structure. Preliminary antioxidant and antiglycated tests indicated that degraded polysaccharides for 2 and 3 h showed even better antioxidant and antiglycated activities.

Mots clés: Opuntia ficus indica; Polysaccharide; Free radical depolymerization; Antioxidant activity; Antiglycation activity

Domaines: Polymères; Matériaux

Mohamed Aymen Chaouch, Jawhar Hafsa, Christophe Rihouey, Didier Le Cerf, Hatem Majdoub. Depolymerization of polysaccharides from Opuntia ficus indica: Antioxidant and antiglycated activities. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2015, 79, pp.779 - 786. ⟨10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2015.06.003⟩. ⟨hal-01869045⟩