Abstract

Prosopis species are generally fast-growing, drought-resistant, nitrogen-fixing trees or shrubs. Fruits of Prosopis spp are indehiscent pods, where pericarp is formed by the epicarp, light brown in colour, and fibrous nature; the mesocarp known as pulp, which is rich in sugars; and the endocarp. The aim of this work was to obtain a fibre concentrate from the pods of Prosopis chilensis Mol. (Stuntz) and to determine the chemical, physical, and technological properties of the pod flour (PF) and of a fibre concentrate or pod purified flour (PPF). Acetone, ethanol, and water at different conditions of time and temperature were used in the purification process. PF showed 53.7g/100g of total sugar content, 4.2g/100g of reducing sugar content, 41.8g/100g of total dietary fibre, 35.8g/100g of insoluble fibre, and 6.0g/100g of soluble fibre content. The PPF has a total sugar content of 3.8g/100g, reducing sugar content of 2.2g/100g, total dietary fibre content of 80.8g/100g, insoluble fibre content of 75.1g/100g, and soluble fibre content of 5.7g/100g. The scanning electron microscopy analysis showed the existence of voids in the structure of PPF flour, which reveals the efficiency of the purification process with a high decrease in the total sugar content.