Nutritional value of Agave angustifolia Haw. in wild habitat in Guerrero, Mexico

Guillermina Barrientos Rivera, Elias Hernandez Castro, Lucia Delgadillo Ruiz, Adalberto Benavides Mendoza, Emir Lenin Serafin-Higuera, Edgar Leon Esparza-Ibarra, Jose Adrian Rene Grada-Yautentzi

Abstract


Background: In Guerrero, Agave angustifolia is a species found in the wild and cultivated, it represents 80% of the raw material in the production of mezcal produced in the state. The residues generated during mezcal production are wasted agricultural waste that could be used to produce commercially valuable products. Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate the bromatological and nutritional composition of A. angustifolia Haw. Methodology: Wild maguey plants were collected from six localities in Guerrero, Mexico. Physical and chemical analyses of leaf and stem were performed for the following parameters: pH, acidity (Ac), total organic carbon (TOC), total reducing sugars (ART), moisture (H), dry matter (Ms), ethereal extract (Ee), crude protein (Pc), crude fiber (Fc), ash (Cz) and concentrations of macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg), micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn and Mo) and Na. Data were analyzed with R Software version 4.1.3 using Tukey's test, Mann-Whitney test, principal components analysis and Pearson's correlation, all performed at a significance level of p = 0.05. Results: The stem had a high concentration of ART (7.45%) and TOC (96.3%); the leaf had a higher concentration of Fc (99.8%), Cz (36.2%), Pc (8.86%) and Ee (3.61%). In terms of nutrients, on average, Ca (49.960 g kg-1), K (8.35 g kg-1) and N (8.642 g kg-1) were the highest concentrations in the whole plant; the leaf was the organ with the highest concentrations of Ca (71 g kg-1), K (14.567 g kg-1), N (14.250 g kg-1) and Mg (4.800 g kg-1). Implications: Mezcal is the main product made from A. angustifolia; however, the derivatives of the leaf, juice, bagasse and fiber can be used to make products that are of interest in the food, agricultural and medicinal industries. Conclusion: Based on the bromatological and nutritional results, A. angustifolia is a species to explore alternative uses that would be of sociocultural, economic and ecological importance.

Keywords


Proximate analysis; agave derivatives; maguey espadín.

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References


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URN: http://www.revista.ccba.uady.mx/urn:ISSN:1870-0462-tsaes.v28i3.59842

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.56369/tsaes.5984

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