CARACTERIZACIÓN BIOQUÍMICA PRELIMINAR DE LOS PRINCIPALES COMPONENTES DEL MUCÍLAGO DEL CARDÓN DATO (Stenocereus griseus (Haw.) F. Buxb) * Preliminary biochemical characterization of the main components from the Cardon Dato (Stenocereus griseus (Haw.) F. Buxb ) mucilage

The mucilage was extracted and partially characterized from the cactus commonly known as Cardon Dato (Stenocereus griseus (Haw.) F. Buxb). The material was dialyzed and separated in two fractions, one water-soluble and the other water-insoluble, and their composition and main linkage types were analyzed by means of infrared spectrophotometer, acid hydrolysis, and methylation analysis. This material contained uronic acids and neutral sugars, mainly galactopyranose (linked by bonds 14 and 14, 6) and minor quantities of ramnose, galactopse and arabinose. This composition is characteristic for pectintype polysaccharides. The use of such mucilage as a soil natural conditioner has been reported, so, that is the connotation of its characterization.