Journal of Food and Nutrition Research
ISSN (Print): 2333-1119 ISSN (Online): 2333-1240 Website: https://www.sciepub.com/journal/jfnr Editor-in-chief: Prabhat Kumar Mandal
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Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2025, 13(10), 408-414
DOI: 10.12691/jfnr-13-10-3
Open AccessArticle

Consequences of Extraction Methods on the Structural and Functional Properties of Aloe vera L. (Aloe barbadensis Miller) Polysaccharides

COULIBALY Ibourahema1, , KONAN Kouakou Ahossi2, TRAORE Souleymane3, COULIBALY Adja Mansagna1, 4, ENAN Reine Pelagie3, KOUASSI Kra Athanase1 and KONATÉ Ibrahim2

1Agrovalorisation Laboratory, Agroforestry Training and Research Unit (UFR-AGRO), University Jean Lorougnon GUEDE PB-150, Daloa, Ivory Coast

2Training and Research Unit in Agroforestry, Laboratory of Host-Microorganism Interactions, Environment and Evolution (LIHME), Jean Lorougnon Guédé University, Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire

3Analytical Chemistry Unit, Gembloux Agricultural University, Passages des déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium

4Laboratory of the Unit of Antibiotics, Natural Substances and Surveillance of Resistance of Microorganisms to Anti-Infectious (ASSURMI), Pasteur Institute of Ivory Coast (IPCI) BP-490, Abidjan-01, Ivory Coast

Pub. Date: October 28, 2025

Cite this paper:
COULIBALY Ibourahema, KONAN Kouakou Ahossi, TRAORE Souleymane, COULIBALY Adja Mansagna, ENAN Reine Pelagie, KOUASSI Kra Athanase and KONATÉ Ibrahim. Consequences of Extraction Methods on the Structural and Functional Properties of Aloe vera L. (Aloe barbadensis Miller) Polysaccharides. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2025; 13(10):408-414. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-13-10-3

Abstract

The present work investigated how different extraction techniques affect the chemical and physical characteristics of polysaccharides derived from Aloe vera L. Two commercial materials were analyzed: a powdered preparation and a liquid extract from whole leaves. Hydrolysis kinetics were examined for both products. Polysaccharide fractions (A1, A2, A3, and A4) were obtained using hot and cold water extractions as well as ethanol treatment. Molecular weights were determined for each fraction, and protein, galacturonic acid, and sugar contents were quantified. Approximately 25% of total sugars were detected in the powder form. Cold-water extraction (pH 5.3, 25°C, 4 h) yielded the highest recovery rate of polysaccharides (69.4 ± 0.1%), outperforming other techniques. A marked reduction was observed in molecular weight (150 to 30 kDa), number-average molecular mass (97 to 29 kDa), and protein content (4.9 ± 0.1 to 0.00%) following fractionation. Conversely, sugar levels increased with purification, reaching 29.2 ± 0.1%, 76.6 ± 0.1%, and 93.4 ± 0.4% for Poly A, A1, and A2, respectively. The A3 fraction exhibited the highest sugar proportion (≈ 97.8 ± 1.5%), dominated by glucomannan (mannose 77.3 ± 6.5%, glucose 18.7 ± 2.8%). These findings highlight that fractionation methods can generate highly purified polysaccharides with promising nutritional, functional, and therapeutic applications.

Keywords:
polysaccharides Aloe vera L. extraction methods acemannan protein polysaccharides sugar

Creative CommonsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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