AN\uc1LISIS DE LAS CARACTER\ucdSTICAS F\ucdSICO-QU\ucdMICAS DE LA PULPA DEL FRUTO DE Opuntia elatior Miller

La tuna del g\ue9nero Opuntia, es una de las cact\ue1ceas con mayor presencia en las regiones semi\ue1ridas de Venezuela, a pesar de ser un recurso natural con un importante valor alimentario, no existen suficientes investigaciones a nivel nacional que proporcionen informaci\uf3n sobre la composici\uf3n bromatol\uf3gica de sus componentes. La presente investigaci\uf3n tiene por objeto determinar algunas de las caracter\uedsticas f\uedsico-qu\uedmicas de la pulpa del fruto de Opuntia elatior Miller, a fin de identificar sus posibles usos a nivel tecnol\uf3gico. Para la caracterizaci\uf3n fisicoqu\uedmica se determin\uf3 la biomasa del fruto total (BTF), biomasa de la parte comestible (BPC), biomasa del exocarpio (BE), biomasa del mesocarpio (BM), biomasa de semillas (BS), di\ue1metro polar (DP), di\ue1metro ecuatorial (DE) y rendimiento del fruto (REN), y se aplicaron los m\ue9todos siguientes: humedad COVENIN N\ub01153-80, acidez titulable (AT) COVENIN N\ub01151-77, pH COVENIN N\ub01315-79, s\uf3lidos solubles totales (SST) COVENIN N\ub0924-83, cuantificaci\uf3n de pectinas m\ue9todo del Carbazol, prote\uednas COVENIN N\ub01195-80, fibra cruda (FC) m\ue9todo de Weende, az\ufacares reductores (AR) y az\ufacares reductores totales (ART) m\ue9todo Lane y Eynon. Los resultados obtenidos fueron los siguientes: BTF 35,12g\ub17,7, BPC 12,50g\ub13,1, BE 3,60g\ub10,9, BM 15,18g\ub14,3, BS 3,83g\ub11,1, DP 41,78mm\ub13,8, DE 37,30mm\ub13,1, REN 35,04mm\ub15,4, humedad 90,537%+0,281, AT 0,017g de \ue1cido c\uedtrico/100g\ub10,001, pH 5,152\ub10,258, SST 10,183\ub0Brix\ub10,674, pectinas 0,144%\ub10,004, prote\uednas 0,866%\ub10,005, FC 2,272%\ub10,016, AR 2,128%\ub10,035 y ART 6,220%\ub10,095. Se concluye que la pulpa del fruto puede ser utilizada en la agroindustria como materia prima para la elaboraci\uf3n de productos como jaleas, mermeladas, compotas, jugos y n\ue9ctares. Palabras clave: Opuntia elatior Miller, az\ufacares, mesocarpio, pectina. ABSTRACT The gender Opuntia is one of the cactus plant that is well distributed in the semiarid regions of Venezuela, despite being a natural resource with significant nutritional value, there is insufficient research nationwide to provide information on the composition bromatological of its components. This research aims to determine some of the physicochemical characteristics of the pulp of the fruit of the prickly pear Opuntia elatior Miller, to identify their potential uses in technology. For physicochemical characterization were determined total biomass of the fruit (TBF), biomass of the edible part (BEP), exocarp biomass (EB), mesocarp biomass (MB), seed biomass (SB), polar diameter (PD), equatorial diameter (ED) and fruit yield (FY), the following methods were applied: moisture COVENIN N\ub01153-80, titratable acidity (TA) COVENIN N\ub01151-77, pH COVENIN N\ub01315-79, total soluble solids (TSS) COVENIN N\ub0924-83, pectins quantification Carbazole method, proteins COVENIN N\ub01195-1180, crude fiber (CF) Weende method, reducing sugars (RS) and total reducing sugars (TRS) Lane and Eynon method. The results were as follows: TBF 35,12g\ub17,7, BEP 12,50g\ub13,1, EB 3,60g\ub10,9, MB 15,18g\ub14,3, SB 3,83g\ub11,1, PD 41,78mm\ub13,8, ED 37,30mm\ub13,1, FY 35,04mm\ub15,4, moisture 90,537%\ub10,281, TA 0,017g citric acid/100g\ub10,001, pH 5,152\ub10,258, TSS 10,183\ub0Brix\ub10,674, pectins 0,144%\ub10,004, protein 0,866%\ub10,005, CF 2,272%\ub10,016, RS 2,128%\ub10,035 and TRS 6,220%\ub10,095. It is conclude that the fruit pulp can be used in the agroindustry as raw material for the production of products such as jellies, jams, compotes, juices and nectars. Keywords: Opuntia elatior Miller, sugars, mesocarp, pectin.