Structural Analysis and Anticoagulant Activity of Polysaccharides from Opuntia milpa alta

[Objective] To analyze the components and structure of Opuntia milpa alta polysaccharides, and to study its anticoagulant activity. [Method] The crude polysaccharides （CP） were prepared from Opuntia milpa alta using hot water extraction and ethanol precipitation method, purified by anion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography to study its monosaccharide composition, weight-average molecular weight distribution and main chain structure. And a preliminary study was conducted on the anticoagulant activity of polysaccharide components. [Result] The polysaccharide components WSP1, WSP2a and WSP3 were obtained from CP by the anion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. WSP1 was mainly composed of galactose with a weight-average molecular weight of 2.32×106. WSP2a consisted of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose, galactose, glucuronic acid and galacturonic acid, the contents were 6.3%, 32.3%, 12.9%, 1.5%, 4.8%, 37.1%, 0.64% and 4.4%, respectively. WSP3 mainly composed of arabinose, xylose, rhamnose and trace of glucose, mannose, uronic acid. The weight-average molecular weight of WSP2a and WSP3 was 1.24×106 and 7.92×106, respectively. WSP2 prolonged the activated partial thromboplatin time （APTT） and thrombin time （TT）, while had no significant effect on the prothrombin time （PT） in vitro, indicating that anticoagulant activity of WSP2 functions by affecting the intrinsic coagulation system. The test of inhibition to the conversion of fibrinogen into thrombin showed that WSP2a and WSP3 had obvious anticoagulant activity. Methylation analysis indicated that the main chain of WSP2a was constituted of 1, 4-GalA, 1, 2-Rha and 1, 2, 4-Rha. [Conclusion] This study provided experimental basis for the optimization and development of polysaccharide resources from cactus

Study of the Opuntia ficus indica and Its Radioactive Potassium Content using the Gamma Spectrometry

Mexico is one of the largest producers of nopal （Opuntiaficus indica）. This ＂vegetable＂ is consumed on a daily basis by the Mexican population, being a source of food nutrients. Among its benefits, it is considered the content of potassium, which is essential for human life and health. In this study, it analyzes the content of potassium of the Mexican cactus （Opuntiaficus indica） grown in 5 different regions in the Mexican Basin, where 67% of the nopal is produced for human consumption. The used methodology is gamma spectrometry with Hyperpure Germanium detector （HPGe） and Multichannel Analyzer （MCA） with Maestro~ software. The results show interesting aspects on the concentration of potassium in the nopal. This concentration will primarily depend on： （a） the geological characteristics of the location where the nopal was grows; （b） that potassium concentrations may vary substantially from a region to another, with the same species of nopal as a reference and （c） that this concentration may also vary from one growing season to another.