Salep, a traditional Turkish beverage, derives its name from its primary component: salep powder (SP), which is sourced from the tubers of certain orchid species. This study investigated various physicochemical attributes (including dry matter, protein content, pH, titration acidity, water activity, color, serum separation, and zeta potential), as well as rheological and sensory characteristics of salep beverages. These drinks were prepared by substituting SP with chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seed mucilage powder (MP) with different ratios (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%). The substitution of SP with MP did not influence the dry matter and protein contents or the pH and acidity values of the drinks significantly (p > .05). The inclusion of MP in the formulation of salep drinks resulted in a decrease in lightness (L*) and a* color values while increasing the b* color values. However, consumer perception, as indicated by color difference values (∆E*), showed no distinguishable difference between drinks containing MP and control drinks. Furthermore, higher ratios of MP led to increased apparent viscosity values in the drinks and effectively prevented or significantly reduced serum separation observed in control drinks (p < .05). Remarkably, sensory evaluations revealed that substituting up to 30% of SP with MP did not negatively impact the overall sensory properties of the drinks (p > .05), suggesting that MP could be recommended as a feasible alternative. This substitution has the potential to contribute to the conservation of orchid plants, the primary source of salep, while also offering cost-saving benefits in the production of salep drinks.

Natural polysaccharides are attractive biodegradable polymers. Among the natural plant-based polysaccharides, mucilage is an interest for numerous biomedical applications. Hence, mucilage was isolated from the leaves of Cocculus hirsutus (Family; Menispermaceae) and tested for its phytochemicals, physio-chemical characteristics using standard procedure such as solubility, pH, swelling index etc., and structural characterization studies using FTIR, GC-MS and SEM followed by antioxidant and in vitro cytotoxic assays. The phytochemical results showed the presence of carbohydrates, amino acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, terpenes, saponin, glycosides and steroids. The yield percentage of mucilage was 26% and showed swelling index of 6.8-7.4. The FTIR spectra of mucilage showed characteristics strong peaks of major functional groups. The SEM image showed the porous and rough surface morphological characters of mucilage. The obtained mucilage showed antioxidant potential by DPPH, FRAP and Total reducing power assay and also exhibited non-cytotoxic character against fibroblast cell lines. Thus, the isolated mucilage showed promising characteristics which can be exploited for various biological applications from food to drug release studies.

The mucilage event witnessed in the Sea of Marmara in 2021 has emerged as a prominent environmental concern, capturing public attention due to its detrimental effects on ecological, economic, and aesthetic dimensions. Addressing the multifaceted impacts of mucilage demands a nature-centric scientific approach, given its global ramifications spanning economy, public health, international relations, and tourism. Consequently, this study sought to explore alternative approaches for the removal of pathogenic enteric bacteria associated with mucilage occurrences, diverging from conventional methodologies. Specifically, the primary objective was to assess the efficacy of rhamnolipid and a bacteriophage cocktail in mitigating the proliferation of enteric pathogens within mucilaginous environments. During the study, 91 phage isolations were obtained from 45 water samples taken and 10 phages were selected for the broad host range and because of the efficacy tests, a phage cocktail was created with 5 phages. It was found that the mixture of rhamnolipid, phage cocktail and rhamnolipid-phage cocktail reduced bacterial load by 7-9 log10, 9-12 log10 and 9-11 log10 respectively under laboratory conditions. When the study was carried out in seawater, reductions of 4-5 log10, 3 log10 and 4 log10 were achieved. This study has shown that the combined use of rhamnolipid, phage cocktail and rhamnolipid-phage cocktail can be considered as the most effective natural solution proposal for reducing bacterial load, both in laboratory conditions and in sea surface water.

Althaea officinalis L. root mucilage holds promise for food industries due to its functional properties. Despite various extraction techniques, ohmic systems remain underexplored for mucilage extraction. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of mucilage extraction using ohmic systems with maceration and investigate their physicochemical properties. The mucilage extraction was carried out utilizing maceration (M), ohmic-assisted extraction (OAE), and ohmic-assisted vacuum extraction (OAVE). Various parameters were evaluated, such as densities and specific energy consumption. The mucilage obtained by OAE had the highest yield (8.9 %). The highest solubility corresponded to the mucilage obtained by the OAE system (85.18 % at 65 °C). OAVE mucilage had 76.16 % swelling and 82.5 g water/g dry sample binding capacity, while OAE mucilage had 19.6 g water/g dry sample binding capacity. The OAVE mucilage oil absorption (12.3 g oil/g dry sample) was almost twice that of the OAE system. Rheological analysis characterized them as a pseudoplastic behavior. DSC thermogram of mucilage samples exhibited a singular endothermic peak (92.05 to 108.3 °C). FTIR analysis highlighted that the primary constituents of mucilage samples predominantly consisted of polysaccharides. This study concluded that ohmic-assisted extraction was the most efficient method for obtaining mucilage. Further research could explore the potential applications of this mucilage.

Sunflower oil (SFO) and Flaxseed oil (FSO) were microencapsulated using simple and complex coacervation techniques with Opuntia (Cactaceae) mucilage (Mu) and with a combination of Mu with chitosan (Chit). The encapsulation efficiency (EE) of SFO and FSO in emulsions using Mu/Chit shells was 96.7% and 97.4%, respectively. Morphological studies indicated successful entrapment of oils in core shells with particle sizes ranging from 1396 ± 42.4 to 399.8 ± 42.3 nm. The thermogravimetric analyses demonstrated enhanced core protection with thermal stability noted for microcapsules regardless of encapsulation method. The stability of the microcapsules, during in vitro digestion was studied. The obtained results revealed that the microcapsules are intact in oral conditions and have a slow release of oil over stomach digestion and rapid release in the small intestine. The results showed that Mu and Mu/Chit coacervates can be used as effective carrier systems to encapsulate sensitive ingredients and functional oils.

Mucilage is a natural source of polysaccharides that has recently attracted attention for use in biomaterial production. It attracts attention with its easy and fast extraction, biocompatibility, high water retention capacity, and biodegradability. Although there are studies on the characterization of mucilage obtained from different plant sources, the interaction of this polymer with other polymers and its potential to form new biomaterials have not yet been sufficiently investigated. Based on this, in this study, the potential of mucilage extracted from flaxseed for the production of cryogels for tissue engineering applications was demonstrated. Firstly, yield, basic physicochemical properties, morphology, and surface charge-dependent isoelectric point determination studies were carried out for the characterization of the extracted mucilage. The successful preparation of mucilage was evaluated for the construction of cryo-scaffolds and 3D, spongy, and porous structures were obtained in the presence of chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol polymers. A heterogeneous morphology with interconnected macro and micro porosity in the range of approximately 85-115 m pore diameter was exhibited. Due to the high hydrophilic structure of the mucilage, which is attached to the structure with weak hydrogen bonds, the contact angle values of the scaffolds were obtained below 80° and they showed the ability to absorb 1000 times their dry weight in approximately 30 min. As a preliminary optimization study for the evaluation of mucilage in cryogel formation, this work introduced a new construct to be developed as wound dressing scaffold for deep and chronic wounds.

Nowadays, substituting petroleum-based plastics with biodegradable polymers made from polysaccharides loaded with various reinforcing materials has recently gained attention due to the impact of conventional plastics wastes. In this study, polysaccharidic mucilage from Ethiopian cactus (Opuntia Ficus Indica) was derived using microwave-assisted extraction technique to develop biodegradable polymers that were inexpensive, readily available, simple to make, and ecofriendly. The effect of microwave power 300-800 W, solid-liquid (cactus-sodium hydroxide solution) ratio 1:5-1:25, sodium hydroxide concentration 0.1-0.8 mol/L, and extraction time 2-10 min on mucilage extraction were studied and the maximum yield of mucilage was attained at optimized parameters of 506 W, 1:20, 0.606 mol/L, and 9.5 min, respectively. Biodegradable polymers made with mucilage alone have poor mechanical characteristics and are thermally unstable. Thus, to overcome the stated problems, glycerol as a plasticizer and acid-leached kaolin crosslinked with urea as a reinforcing material were used. Moreover, the effect of acid-leached kaolin and glycerol on the physico-chemical properties of the films was studied, and a maximum tensile strength of 6.74 MPa with 18.45 % elongation at break, thermally improved biodegradability of 26 %, were attained at 10 % acid-leached kaolin and 20 % glycerol crosslinking with 2 % urea. But the maximum degradability of 53.5 % was attained at 30 % glycerol content. The control and reinforced biodegradable films were characterized using TGA, FTIR, SEM, and XRD to determine the thermal, functional group, morphology, and crystallinity of the bioplastics, respectively. These biodegradable plastics may be used for packaging application.

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is the causal agent of poplar anthracnose, which induces major economic losses and adversely affects the ecosystem services of poplar forests. The appressorium serves as a penetration structure for many pathogenic fungi, including C. gloeosporioides. The production of mucilage and the formation of penetration pegs are critically important for the appressorium-mediated penetration of host tissues. We previously found that CgPmk1 is a key protein involved in appressorium formation, penetration, and pathogenicity. Although CgSte12, which is a transcription factor that functions downstream of CgPmk1, regulates the formation of penetration pegs, its role in C. gloeosporioides appressorium development and pathogenicity has not been elucidated. Here, we developed C. gloeosporioides CgSTE12 mutants and characterized the molecular and cellular functions of CgSTE12. The results showed that mycelial growth and morphology were not affected in the CgSTE12 knockout mutants, which produced normal melanized appressoria. However, these mutants had less mucilage secreted around the appressoria, impaired appressorial cone formation, and the inability to form penetration pores and pegs, which ultimately led to a significant loss of pathogenicity. Our comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that CgSte12 controls the expression of genes involved in appressorium development and function, including genes encoding cutinases, NADPH oxidase, spermine biosynthesis-related proteins, ceramide biosynthesis-related proteins, fatty acid metabolism-related proteins, and glycerophospholipid metabolism-related proteins. Overall, our findings indicate that CgSte12 is a critical regulator of appressorium development and affects C. gloeosporioides pathogenicity by modulating the structural integrity of appressoria.

Herein, we describe a detailed protocol to extract the mucilage from different species of the genus Opuntia spp. (i.e., Opuntia Ficus (OFi), Opuntia Dillenii (ODi) and Opuntia Robusta (ORo)). The extracted mucilage was characterized by NMR, FTIR-ATR, HPLC, and TGA. OFi was found to have the highest phenolic content, 7.84 ± 1.93 mg catechol/g mucilage. The mucilage from the three species were characterized by having a high content of monosaccharides, being mannose and glucose the most abundant components (ca. 48-73 % and 23-35 %, respectively). In the context of biomass revalorization, the mucilage was proven to serve as a reducing and stabilizing agent in the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNP/mucilage). The synthesis was optimized with a mucilage concentration of 2 mg/mL using 12.5 μL of KAuCl4 and was carried out at 80 °C for 90 min. This protocol afforded spherical nanoparticles with an average size of 9.7 ± 4.0 nm that were stable for at least 14 days, as demonstrated by TEM. Synthesized AuNP/mucilage was evaluated as a plasmonic catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol as model reaction, showing a considerable enhancement in its kapp of 97 % under white light and a decrease of 24.8 % in its activation energy.

Mucilage is a gelatinous and sticky hydrophilic polysaccharide released from epidermal cells of seed coat after the hydration of mature seeds and is composed primarily of unbranched rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I). In this study, we produced a recombinant endo-RG-I hydrolase from Aspergillus aculeatus (AaRhgA) in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and examined its substrate preference for pyridylaminated (PA) RG-I with the various degrees of polymerization (DP). Recombinant AaRhgA requires PA-RG-I with a DP of 10 or higher for its hydrolase activity. We heterologously expressed the AarhgA gene under the strong constitutive promoter, cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, in Arabidopsis thaliana. In a series of biochemical analyses of each mucilage fraction released from the water-imbibed seeds of the transgenic plants, we found the enhanced deposition of the transparent mucilage layer that existed in the peripheral regions of the adherent mucilage and was not stained with ruthenium red. This study demonstrated the feasibility of manipulating the mucilage organization by heterologous expression of the endo-RG-I hydrolase.