Opuntia Ficus-Indica L. Miller (Palma Forrageira) as an Alternative Source of Cellulose for Production of Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and Biomaterials: Extraction and Characterization

Abstract

Cellulose is among the top 5 excipients used in the pharmaceutical industry. It has been considered one of the main diluents used in conventional and modern dosage forms. Therefore, different raw materials of plant origin have been evaluated as potential alternative sources of cellulose. In this context, Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller (palma forrageira), a plant of the cactus family that has physiological mechanisms that provide greater productivity with reduced water requirements, is an interesting and unexplored alternative for extracting cellulose. By using this source, we aim to decrease the extraction stages and increase the yields, which might result in a decreased cost for the industry and consequently for the consumer. The aim of this work was to investigate the use of Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller as a new source for cellulose extraction, therefore providing an efficient, straight forward and low-cost method of cellulose II production. The extraction method is based on the oxidation of the lignins. The obtained cellulose was identified and characterized by spectroscopic methods (FTIR and NMR), X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis (TGA-DTG and DSC) and scanning electron microscopy. The results confirmed the identity of cellulose and its fibrous nature, which are promising characteristics for its use in the industry and a reasonable substrate for chemical modifications for the synthesis of cellulose II derivatives with different physicochemical properties that might be used in the production of drug delivery systems and biomaterials.

Distribution and Chemical Composition of Lignin in Secondary Xylem of Cactaceae

“…The first studies on the chemical composition of Cactaceae stems focused on Opuntia ficus-indica due to its importance in human consumption, [10] as fodder, [11] and more recently, its potential in the paper industry. [12] The chemical composition of secondary [4,5] and primary xylem [13] has been calculated for some species belonging to Pereskioideae, Opuntioideae, and Cactoideae subfamilies.…”

Opuntia ficus-indica is an excellent eco-friendly biosorbent for the removal of chromium in leather industry effluents

“…However, for biomass spectrum after sorption, an increase in the area of bands was verified at 3700–3084 cm −1 , 1620 cm −1 , 1316 cm −1 (axial deformation C–O of carboxylic acids) and 1024 cm −1 (axial deformation C–O of primary alcohols). Also, a decrease was verified in areas at 1079 and 1049 cm −1 attributed to angular deformations of C–O groups present in lignocellulosic components contained in biomass ( de Assis et al., 2019 ).…”

“…The plant material was washed, cut into pieces with 3 × 3 × 1 cm dimensions, dried on oven De Leo® AESRSE model at 55 °C for 72 hours and powdered in mill Fortinox® STAR FT 50 model using 1 mm sieve. Then, the powdered was stored in a closed and dried container at 25 °C until use ( de Assis et al., 2019 ).…”

“…Opuntia ficus-indica , a plant from the cactus family and known in Brazil as “palma forrageira”, is within the biomass currently used. It is a species native from Mexico and widely grown in the Brazilian northeastern region for goat breeding feed due to high nutritional value, adaptability, reproducibility and low water request ( Almeida, 2012 ; de Assis et al., 2019 ).…”

“…Opuntia species have, on average, 21% of cellulose ( de Assis et al., 2019 ), 18.8% of mucilage, 14.84% of pectin ( Bayar et al., 2018 ) and 2.9%–6.0% of protein ( Frota et al., 2015 ). This chemical profile has aroused the interest from several authors for the use of this species or its derivatives as sorbent for heavy metals and pollution.…”