ISSN 1330-9862 scien i ic no e
(FTB-1544)
E alua ion o T ea men s o Reduce Ha dness o Aga e
ame icana Co e
José A. Ramí ez1, Rocio C. Gómez-Ayala1, Cuauh émoc Jacques-He nández2and
Manuel Vázquez3*
1Depa men o Food Science and Technology, U. A. M. Reynosa-Az lán, Uni e sidad Au ónoma de
Tamaulipas, Apdo. Pos al 1015, 88700 Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México
2Cen o de Bio ecnología Genómica, Ins i u o Poli écnico Nacional, 88700 Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México
3Á ea de Tecnología de los Alimen os, Depa amen o Química Analí ica, Facul ad de Ve e ina ia,
Uni e sidad de San iago de Compos ela – Campus de Lugo, E-27002 Lugo, Spain
Recei ed: Augus 20, 2005
Accep ed: No embe 2, 2005
Summa y
Aga e ame icana con ains inulin as s o age ca bohyd a e. The e o e, aga e is in e es ing
o be used o he ex ac ion o inulin by p essing. The yield o he p ocess is low due o
he high ha dness o he co e. The objec i e o his wo k was o e alua e p e ea men s o
educe he ha dness in he p ocess o ob aining inulin by p essing. T ea men s wi h wa e ,
sulphu ic acid 1 % (by mass) o sodium hyd oxide 1 % (by mass) we e es ed and op i-
mized. The p e ea men o he co e o A. ame icana wi h sulphu ic acid 1 % allowed he
educ ion o ha dness om 30 000 g o 2000 go b eaking o ce. The ma hema ical model
ob ained p edic s an op imum p ocessing a 84 °C du ing 75 min. The ea men wi h
sulphu ic acid 1 % also allows whi e co e o A. ame icana o be ob ained, while he o he
ea men s p o ide yellow co e. These esul s open a good al e na i e o ob ain alue
added p oduc s om his esou ce.
Key wo ds:Aga e ame icana, inulin, ha dness, colou
In oduc ion
The genus Aga e belongs o he Aga aceae amily
wi h mo e han 300 species and occu s na i ely in a id
and opical egions, pa icula ly in Mexico and Cen al
Ame ica. Aga e ame icana L. is a e y la ge plan wi h
ose es up o 3.5 m wide. The aga e can be used o p o-
duce wo dis inc kinds o be e ages. The i s is d op-
ped as sap om he li ing plan and consumed esh,
known as aguamiel o e men ed, known as pulque. The
second kind is he dis illed liquo s known as mezcal o
equila. The ma ke o equila is g owing due o he e-
cen ly ecognized o igin denomina ion o i by he Eu-
opean Union, which means mo e equila will be p o-
duced wi h a subs an ial imp o emen o he p ocess
and equila quali y. The main Aga e used o he p o-
duc ion o equila is Aga e equilana, bu analogous p od-
uc s can be ob ained wi h o he species o Aga e. Fo in-
s ance, A. ame icana is used o ob ain high- uc ose e -
men able liquo o making mezcal, a dis illed alcoholic
be e age simila o equila, by using na u al o con-
olled e men a ions.
Al hough aga e plan s a e associa ed wi h Mexico,
se e al aga e species we e in oduced in Spain in he
1940s. Ac ually, in he sou heas Spain, a p oblem exis s
due o he in asi e cha ac e is ics o hese plan s, wi h
high g ow h a e in sandy soils (1). Finding applica ions
o he aga e could p omo e a easonable con ol o
hei popula ion.
545
J.A. RAMÍREZ e al.: Reduc ion o Ha dness o Aga e ame icana Co e, Food Technol. Bio echnol. 44 (4) 545–551 (2006)
*Co esponding au ho ; Phone: ++34 982 285 900 ex . 44 139; Fax: ++34 982 285 926; E-mail: [email protected]
A new applica ion o his plan is he p oduc ion o
inulin. This is an indiges ible oligosaccha ide ( uc an)
ha is ound in many plan s as a s o age ca bohyd a e.
Inulin has been de ined as a polydispe se ca bohyd a e
ma e ial consis ing mainly, i no exclusi ely, o b(2®1)
uc osyl- uc ose links. I is p esen in many egula ly
consumed ege ables, ui s and ce eals such as leek, on-
ion, ga lic, whea , chico y, a ichoke and banana. Inulin
is a die a y ibe ha can be used as ood addi i e o in-
g edien o ood p oduc s (2). Inulin has good a mi-
mic p ope ies when combined wi h wa e . I can s abi-
lize low- a mousses and sp eadable p oduc s, and i
shows syne ge ic gelling e ec s when combined wi h
gelling agen s. Inulin is a p ebio ic. Recen nu i ion e-
sea ch has shown in e es ing esul s wi h ega d o cal-
cium abso p ion and colon cance p e en ion (3). Nowa-
days, he inulin comme cially a ailable on he ood
ing edien ma ke is ei he syn hesized om suc ose o
ex ac ed om chico y oo s (Cicho ium in ybus).
A. ame icana and A. equilana con ain inulin as s o -
age ca bohyd a e. The e o e, an in e es ing use o aga e
is he ex ac ion o inulin by p essing, bu he yield o
he p ocess is low due o he high ha dness o he aga e
co e.
A e he ex ac ion by p essing, he aga e bagasse
can be used o ob ain aga e ibe boa ds ha ha e mois-
u e and mechanical p ope ies compa able o medium
speci ic g a i y ibe boa ds made by using aspen ibe
(4). Fo ha eason, he was e om inulin p oduc ion
p ocess would be elimina ed.
The objec i e o his wo k was o educe he ha d-
ness o he co e o Aga e ame icana as a p e ea men in
he p ocess o ob aining inulin by p essing. T ea men s
wi h wa e , sulphu ic acid o sodium hyd oxide we e
es ed and op imized.
Ma e ials and Me hods
Raw ma e ial
The A. ame icana used in he expe imen s was col-
lec ed in San Ca los coun y (Tamaulipas, Mexico). The
s em was cu o sepa a e he co e and he lea es. The
co e was sa ed in a single lo in plas ic bags, ozen and
s o ed un il needed.
T ea men s o samples
The p e ea men using wa e o educe ha dness o
he co e o he ex ac ion o inulin om A. ame icana
was selec ed because i is he usual ea men in he p o-
duc ion o equila. Al e na i e ea men s wi h acid o
alkali solu ions we e selec ed on he basis o s udies o
hyd olysis o o he lignocellulose ma e ial, such as so -
ghum s aw o wood (5,6).
The in luence o empe a u e and p ocessing ime du -
ing p e ea men s on ha dness was assessed using he
esponse su ace me hodology, which has been success-
ully used o op imize biochemis y and bio echnology
p ocesses ela ed o ood sys ems (7). The se o expe i-
men s ollowed a second-o de ac o ial s uc u e (8).
T ea men s we e pe o med a 80, 100 o 122 °C in
media con aining 1 g o H2SO4pe 100 g o wa e ,1go
NaOH pe 100 g o wa e o only wa e . The alues o
acid o alkali concen a ions we e selec ed acco ding o
he li e a u e o hyd olysis in simila ma e ials (5–9). All
expe imen s we e pe o med using a wa e /solid a io
(WSR) o 5go wa e pe 1go aga e on d y basis.
Samples we e collec ed a ea men imes 60, 100 and
120 min and il a ed o sepa a e he co e and he liquo .
The ea ed co es we e washed wi h cold s e ile wa e
and he ha dness was es ed as i is shown below.
The liquo was used o de e mine he concen a ion
o ca bohyd a es eleased ( uc ose, glucose and xylose)
by HPLC (Agilen Technologies, Palo Al o, CA, USA) and
u u al by spec opho ome y (Shimadzu, Kyo o, Japan).
The analyses we e ca ied ou as shown in he li e a u e
(10).
Mechanical p ope ies
Samples o p oduc s o 5 cm×5cm×2cmwe eob
-
ained and equilib a ed o oom empe a u e o 30 min in
a plas ic bag o a oid dehyd a ion be o e he mechanical
p ope ies we e measu ed. The mechanical p ope ies
we e de e mined using a TA-XT2i S able Mic o Sys ems
Tex u ome e (Viena Cou , England).
The ha dness es (Wa ne B a zle es ) was pe -
o med by comp essing he samples o he co e o 25 %
o he ini ial heigh using a comp ession speed o 60
mm/min and an AACC p obe o 36 mm. The b eaking
o ce exp essed in g am- o ce (g) o each ea men was
measu ed (1 g am- o ce is 0.0098 N). Samples we e
placed on he base o he ex u ome e , aking ca e ha
he p obe eached he sample a he cen e (11). Six sam-
ples we e analysed o each ea men .
Colou a ibu es
Spec al e lec ance o A. ame icana co e a e he
ea men s was de e mined using a Hun e Lab colo i-
me e (Model Miniscan, Res on Vi ginia, USA) calib a-
ed agains whi e ile. CIE L*, a*, and b* alues, ch oma
([a*2+b*2]1/2), and hue angle (a c an b*/a*) we e calcu-
la ed based on illuminan C and he 2° s anda d obse -
e , as e e enced in he li e a u e (12). Six samples we e
analysed o each ea men .
S a is ical analysis
The in e ela ionship be ween ope a ional and de-
penden a iables was es ablished h ough he ollowing
equa ion including linea , in e ac ion and second-o de
e ms: yi=b0i +b
1ix1+b2ix2+b3ix1·x2+b4i x11+b5i x22, whe e yi
(i=1–3) a e he dependen , no malized a iables and
b0i...b5i a e eg ession coe icien s calcula ed om he ex-
pe imen al da a by mul iple linea eg essions. A sec-
ond-o de mul iple eg ession analysis using he leas
squa es eg ession me hodology was pe o med using
Mic oso Excel 7.0 (Mic oso Co po a ion, Redmond,
WA, USA) so wa e. Mic oso Powe Poin 7.0 (Mic oso
Co po a ion, Redmond, WA, USA) was used o plo he
expe imen al da a and models. The ea men s we e pe -
o med in iplica e. All ex u e and colou da a p e-
sen ed a e mean alues o six de e mina ions.
546 J.A. RAMÍREZ e al.: Reduc ion o Ha dness o Aga e ame icana Co e, Food Technol. Bio echnol. 44 (4) 545–551 (2006)
Resul s and Discussion
Ha dness analysis
The empe a u e and ime we e conside ed as ope a-
ional a iables (deno ed qand , espec i ely) and hei
e ec s on he selec ed dependen a iable ha dness a e
he ea men (yi) we e calcula ed o each ea men : wa-
e y1, acid y2and alkali y3. Fo compu a ion pu poses,
he no malized, dimensionless a iables x1and x2we e
de ined as: x1=(q–100)/20 and x2=( –120)/60.
Table 1 summa izes he a iables in ol ed in he op-
imiza ion o he p e ea men o he co e o A. ame i-
cana. The ope a ional condi ions assayed (in e ms o di-
mensional and dimensionless ope a ional a iables) as
well as he expe imen al esul s de e mined o yi(i=1 o
3) a e shown in Table 2. Empi ical ma hema ical models
we e ob ained by p ocessing hese da a. Table 3 shows
he alues o he coe icien s om he models and hei
s a is ical signi icance.
The ange o s udy o he a iable empe a u e was
selec ed be ween 80 and 120 °C because 100 °C is he
usual empe a u e commonly ecommended o ex ac-
ion o suga in he p oduc ion o equila o mezcal. The
ange o he a iable ime was selec ed a 60–180 min
because he objec i e is only o dec ease he ha dness and
longe ime pe iods can elease suga s o he medium.
The expe imen al alues o ha dness a e he ea -
men wi h wa e (y1) a ied o e he ange 9981–28443
g. The analysis o he main expe imen al ends and he
alues o coe icien s lis ed in Table 3 sugges ha he
e ec o empe a u e and ime in he ea men using
547
J.A. RAMÍREZ e al.: Reduc ion o Ha dness o Aga e ame icana Co e, Food Technol. Bio echnol. 44 (4) 545–551 (2006)
Table 1. Va iables used in he s udy and hei nomencla u e, uni s and anges. The a io liquid/solid was5go wa e pe 1go
aga e on d y basis
(a) Dimensional independen a iables Nomencla u e Uni s Va ia ion ange
Tempe a u e q°C (80–120)
P ocessing ime min (60–180)
(b) Dimensionless, no malized independen a iables Nomencla u e De ini ion Va ia ion ange
Dimensionless empe a u e x1(q–100)/20 (–1–1)
Dimensionless ime x2( –120)/60 (–1–1)
(c) Dependen a iables Nomencla u e Uni s
Ha dness a e he ea men wi h wa e y1g(g am- o ce)
Ha dness a e he ea men wi h sulphu ic acid y2g(g am- o ce)
Ha dness a e he ea men wi h sodium hyd oxide y3g(g am- o ce)
Table 2. Ope a ional condi ions assayed and expe imen al esul s achie ed o he p e ea men s wi h wa e , sulphu ic acid o so-
dium hyd oxide
Expe imen
Independen a iables Dependen a iables
Dimensional Dimensionless
q/°C /min x1x2y1/gy2/gy2/g
1 80 60 –1 –1 20254 4085 10114
2 80 120 –1 0 18701 2800 8325
3 80 180 –1 1 22976 7050 7567
4 100 60 0 –1 10703 6958 31096
5 100 120 0 0 9981 5672 20376
6 100 180 0 1 28443 7196 15074
7 120 60 1 –1 23813 20591 14941
8 120 120 1 0 22556 20412 11443
9 120 180 1 1 26340 16947 8303
qis empe a u e and is ime, x1and x2a e he ela ed coded a iables, y1is he ha dness a e he ea men wi h wa e , y2is he
ha dness a e he ea men wi h sulphu ic acid and y3is he ha dness a e he ea men wi h sodium hyd oxide
Table 3. Reg ession coe icien s and s a is ical signi icance o he
empi ical models ha p edic he ela ionship be ween empe -
a u e and ime o he p e ea men and he ha dness ob ained
in he co e
Coe icien s y1
(j=1)
y2
(j=2)
y3
(j=3)
b0j 12480a6046b21425c
b1j 963 7335c1466
b2j 2998 –73 –4201a
b12j 1201 –1652 –1022
b11j 6897 5372b–12066b
b22j 5842 843 1134
acoe icien s signi ican a 90 % con idence le el
bcoe icien s signi ican a 95 % con idence le el
ccoe icien s signi ican a 99 % con idence le el
y1is he ha dness a e he ea men wi h wa e , y2is he ha d-
ness a e he ea men wi h sulphu ic acid and y3is he ha d-
ness a e he ea men wi h sodium hyd oxide
wa e do no ha e a clea e ec on he ha dness o he
co e o A. ame icana. The esul ing a ia ion pa e n is
shown in Fig. 1. Al hough i appea s ha a minimum
alue o ha dness exis s, he coe icien o de e mina ion
2was no signi ican (0.65). The e ec o he ea men
wi h wa e did no dec ease ha dness o he co e enough
o be a good p e ea men o he p essing o he co e.
The ea men wi h sulphu ic acid1%(y
2) showed
a beha iou di e en om he ea men wi h wa e (y1).
A e he ea men , he ha dness a ied wi hin he wide
ange o 2800–20 591 g. The mos a ou able condi ions
we e de ined by low alue o empe a u e and in e me-
dia e alue o ime (expe imen 2). The signi icance ana-
lysis o he eg ession coe icien s o y2showed ha he
ha dness was signi ican ly a ec ed by he a iable em-
pe a u e and he second-o de e m o his a iable bu
was no signi ican ly a ec ed by he a iable ime. In his
case he coe icien o de e mina ion 2was signi ican
(0.98). The p edic ions o he empi ical model o he de-
pendence o ha dness a e he ea men wi h sulphu ic
acid1%on empe a u e and ime a e shown in Fig. 1.
The op imiza ion o he ea men using he model ob-
ained shows ha he bes condi ions a e 84 °C and 75
min, gi en a co e wi h a p edic ed ha dness o 3154 g.
Visual analysis o Fig. 1 allows o conclude ha low al-
ues o empe a u e and ime p oduce a co e wi h low
ha dness (<5000 g). These alues o ha dness a e ade-
qua e o he p essing used in he ex ac ion o inulin o
he g inding o he hyd olysis o suga s ha can be
used o e men a ion in he p oduc ion o mezcal o e-
quila.
The las p e ea men , wi h sodium hyd oxide 1 %,
allowed ha dness in he ange o 8303–31 096 g o be ob-
ained. The p edic ions o he empi ical model o he
dependence o ha dness a e his ea men on empe a-
u e and ime a e also shown in Fig. 1. Time and he sec-
ond-o de e m o he a iable empe a u e we e he
e ms mos in luen ial in he model ob ained shown in
Table 3. The coe icien o de e mina ion 2was signi i-
can (0.90), bu he alues o ha dness we e no low
enough o he pos e io p ocessing by p essing.
Suga eleased
I was clea ha he bes esul s o educe he ha d-
ness we e ob ained using sulphu ic acid1%a low em
-
pe a u e and ime. Howe e , in addi ion o low ha d-
ness, i is also in e es ing o main ain he suga s in he
co e o a pos e io ex ac ion by p essing o lixi ia ion
(2). Fig. 2 shows he main suga s eleased o he me-
dium in he p e ea men wi h wa e . F uc ose, glucose
and xylose we e always unde 3 g/L. The concen a ion
o suga s in he medium inc eased wi h empe a u e and
ime.
The e ec o he ea men wi h sulphu ic acid 1 %
on he suga s eleased is shown in Fig. 3. F uc ose con-
cen a ion inc eased wi h empe a u e and ime and i
was eleased up o 9.6 g/L. The uc ose was a p oduc
o he hyd olysis o he inulin om he co e. The e o e,
a high concen a ion o uc ose in he medium a e he
ea men is no a ou able o educing ha dness i a
high yield in he pos e io ex ac ion o inulin by p ess-
ing is desi ed. In he condi ions o he lowes ha dness
(a ound 80 °C and 60 min), he uc ose concen a ion
was only 2.6 g/L. The o he suga s (glucose and xylose)
also showed low concen a ions (1.2 and 0.4 g/L).
Fig. 4 shows he esul s o he suga s ob ained in
he medium a e he ea men wi h sodium hyd oxide.
The alues o uc ose concen a ion we e unde 1.8 g/L
o empe a u e o 80 o 100 °C. The concen a ion in-
548 J.A. RAMÍREZ e al.: Reduc ion o Ha dness o Aga e ame icana Co e, Food Technol. Bio echnol. 44 (4) 545–551 (2006)
T ea men :
Wa e
0
0
0
5000
5000
5000
10000
10000
10000
15000
15000
15000
20000
20000
20000
25000
25000
25000
30000
30000
30000
60
60
60
84
84
84
108
108
108
132
132
132
156
156
156
180
180
180
80
80
80
88
88
88
96
96
96
104
104
104
112
112
112
120
120
120
Time / min
Time / min
Time / min
Tempe a u e/ º
C
Tempe a u e/ º
C
Tempe a u e/ º
C
Ha dness/g
Ha dness/g
Ha dness/g
T ea men :
Sulphu ic acid 1 %
T
ea men :
Sodium hyd oxide 1 %
Fig 1. E ec o empe a u e and ime on he ha dness pa ame-
e o he h ee p e ea men s assayed o educe ha dness in
he co e o Aga e ame icana
c eased up o 3.2 g/L when 120 °C was selec ed. Glu-
cose and xylose concen a ions also ga e alues unde
1.4 g/L. Low concen a ions ob ained o all suga s con-
i m ha he alkali hyd olysis in he condi ions o em-
pe a u e and ime s udied was mode a e and i does no
allow a modi ica ion o he s uc u e o he sys em o e-
duce ha dness.
The e o e, he acid hyd olysis in hese condi ions o
empe a u e and ime was mode a e enough o elease
suga , bu s ong enough o change he s uc u e o he
lignocellulose ma ix o he co e, wi h he consequen
dec ease o ha dness. These esul s con i m ha he
ea men o he co e o Aga e ame icana wi h sulphu ic
acid1%isanadequa e p e ea men o educe ha d-
ness.
The analysis o oligome s eleased om inulin con-
i med ha he condi ions assayed o he h ee ea -
men s we e mode a e because he oligome concen a-
ion was always unde 1 g/L. The esul s ob ained
sugges ha a small elease o inulin suga s p omo es a
es uc u ing o he hemicellulosic ma ix causing low
ha dness o he co e. This was obse ed a low empe a-
549
J.A. RAMÍREZ e al.: Reduc ion o Ha dness o Aga e ame icana Co e, Food Technol. Bio echnol. 44 (4) 545–551 (2006)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
0
2
4
6
8
0
0
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
0 50 100 150 20
0
Time / min
0
0 50 100 150 200
Time / min
0
0 50 100 150 200
Time / min
0
g( uc ose)/(g/L)
(
g
l
ucose
)/(
g
/
L
)
g
(xylose)/(g/L)g
Fig. 3. E ec o he ea men wi h sulphu ic acid1%on he e
-
leased suga concen a ions om he co e o Aga e ame icana
0
0.5
1.5
2.5
g( uc ose)/(g/L)
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
(
g
l
ucose
)/(
g
/
L
)
g
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
(xylose)/(g/L)g
0
1.0
2.0
3.0
0 50 100 150 20
0
Time / min
0
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
0
2.0
0
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
0 50 100 150 200
Time / min
0
0 50 100 150 20
0
Time / min
0
Fig. 2. E ec o he ea men wi h wa e on he eleased suga
concen a ions om he co e o Aga e ame icana

u es. Using high empe a u es, he ini ial suga s e-
leased can eac wi h o he compounds o he co e o m-
ing new polyme s, causing highe ha dness and making
u he elease o inulin suga s di icul .
Colou pa ame e s
O he e ec s o he ea men s o he co e o aga e
could be he changes in he su ace colou due o Mail-
la d eac ions and ca ameliza ion. These eac ions should
ha e low in ensi y because hei a es a e inc eased wi h
empe a u e o e 170 °C (13).
Table 4 compa es he colou a ibu es o he sam-
ples a e he ea men wi h wa e . The L* alues de-
c eased wi h ime om 68.2 o 57.8 a 80 °C, om 65.9 o
57.8 a 100 °C and om 65.8 o 62.1 a 120 °C. This de-
c ease indica es a dec ease in he whi eness bu he al-
ues o L* emain in he ange in which he samples can
be conside ed as whi e.
The a* pa ame e was in he ange o 5.4–2.2. The e
we e no signi ican di e ences be ween he samples o
his pa ame e . In he ea men a 80 °C, he b* pa ame-
e also dec eased om 28.7 o 12.41 wi h ime. This
means ha he samples los some yellowness bu s ill
showed a colou be ween whi e and yellow.
Table 4 also shows he colou a ibu es a e he ea -
men wi h sulphu ic acid 1 %. A high alue o L* (72.9)
was obse ed in samples ea ed a 80 °C o 60 min.
The a* pa ame e was in he ange –0.7 and 8.5. This pa-
ame e indica es he endency be ween g een (nega i e
alues) and ed (posi i e alues). The samples we e close
o ze o, he e o e he e is no a clea app ecia ion o hese
colou s in hem. The alues o b* show ha wi h his
ea men a co e ha was whi e han in he ea men
wi h wa e was ob ained.
550 J.A. RAMÍREZ e al.: Reduc ion o Ha dness o Aga e ame icana Co e, Food Technol. Bio echnol. 44 (4) 545–551 (2006)
0
05
1.0
15
2.0
25
3.0
3
5
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
0
0.
1.
2.
3
.
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0 50 100 150 200
Time / min
0
0 50 100 150 200
Time / min
0
0 50 100 150 200
Tim
e/
min
0
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
80 ºC
100 ºC
120 ºC
g( uc ose)/(g/L)
(glucose)/(g/L)g
(xylose)/(g/L)g
Fig. 4. E ec o he ea men wi h sodium hyd oxide1%on he
eleased suga concen a ion om he co e o Aga e ame icana
Table 4. Colou a ibu es (L*, a* and b*) o co es o Aga e ame-
icana a e he ea men s
q/°C /min L* a* b*
T ea men wi h wa e
80
60 68.2 3.7 28.7
120 63.1 3.8 21.5
180 60.1 2.2 12.4
100
60 65.9 2.2 22.3
120 58.5 3.8 22.6
180 57.8 3.9 14.4
120
60 65.9 5.4 27.4
120 62.5 3.5 23.5
180 62.1 4.5 18.1
T ea men wi h sulphu ic acid 1 %
80
60 72.9 –0.2 10.5
120 72.3 –0.7 11.1
180 68.0 3.6 21.9
100
60 66.1 0.6 18.0
120 62.2 8.5 31.3
180 58.3 3.3 14.6
120
60 71.0 1.0 13.9
120 66.6 8.5 32.1
180 61.0 3.9 12.4
T ea men wi h sodium hyd oxide 1 %
80
60 68.2 0.5 19.2
120 63.8 3.3 19.5
180 63.5 5.0 26.3
100
60 63.5 3.9 23.2
120 53.6 5.3 18.7
180 51.1 3.6 18.8
120
60 65.1 2.6 23.1
120 59.9 3.1 18.5
180 61.0 3.9 12.4
qis empe a u e and is ime
The colou a ibu es a e he ea men wi h sodi-
um hyd oxide1%(Table 4) showed a simila beha iou
o he ea men wi h wa e . The L* alues dec eased wi h
ime om 68.2 o 63.5 a 80 °C, om 63.5 o 51.0 a 100
°C and om 65.0 o 59.8 a 120 °C. This is indica i e o a
dec ease in whi eness. The a* pa ame e emains e y
low and he b* pa ame e shows a end o yellowness.
A e he analysis o he colou a ibu es, i can be
concluded ha in he ea men wi h sulphu ic acid 1 %
whi e co e o A. ame icana was ob ained, while he o he
ea men s p o ided yellow co e.
Conclusions
The p e ea men o he co e o A. ame icana wi h
sulphu ic acid 1 % allows he educ ion o he ha dness
by a ac o o 15, wi h low elease o suga s and emain-
ing whi e colou o he co e. The co e a e his ea -
men is sui able o be p ocessed o ex ac inulin by
p essing. This opens a good al e na i e o ob ain alue
added p oduc s om his esou ce.
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