MOlEcUlAR wEIGHT DISTRIBUTION OF FRUcTANS ExTRAcTED FROM AGAVE sAlMiANA lEAvES

Background: In mezcal industry, Agave salmiana leaves are a crop residue and a potential source of fructans. Agave fructans are a soluble fiber that can act as prebiotic in gut microbiota. Questions and Hypotheses: The molecular weight distribution of agave fructans extracted from leaves of Agave salmiana depends on the region where agaves growth and on the subspecies. Studied species: Agave salmiana Otto ex Salm Dyck, spp. salmiana and Agave salmiana spp. crassispina. Study site: Twelve municipalities from Guanajuato Mexico were sampled: Ocampo, San Felipe, San Diego de la Union, Victoria, Xichu, Atar-jea, Dolores Hidalgo, Doctor Mora, Santa Catarina, Tierra Blanca, San Miguel Allende and Comonfort. Methods: The base of the leaf close to the stem of Agave salmiana ssp. salmiana and A. salmiana ssp. crassispina plants, six years old, were har-vested. Water soluble carbohydrates were extracted, the content and molecular weight distribution of fructans was determined by HPLC-SEC. Results: An average of 0.7 % of soluble carbohydrates was recovered from the leaves. The molecular weight distribution of Agave salmiana fructans was: number average molecular weight: 3,209 g/mol; average molecular weight: 5,046 g/mol; number average degree of polymeriza-tion: 19; weight average degree of polymerization: 30. High polymerization degree fructans content was greater in Agave salmiana spp. salmi-ana (55 %) than in Agave salmiana spp. crassispina (47 %). Conclusions: The leaves of Agave salmiana contain a low proportion of high-molecular-weight fructans, compared to commercial agave fruc-tans. The results demonstrated the technical feasibility to obtain fructans from Agave salmiana leaves.