3.2. Sugar consumption
The dilutions to 6–8 Bx, supplemented with molasses up to
12 Bx, showed no significant differences in sugar consumption,
therefore, only the results for the dilutions of 8–10 Bx are presented.
Reducing sugars and soluble solids contents, before and
after fermentation, of the juices diluted to 8–10 Bx are shown in
Table 2. Initial reducing sugars concentrations varied between
experiments due to dilutions made to the henequen juice. These
were done in order to simulate the influence of climatic variations
(rainy or dry seasons) on juice extracted from the leaves during the
year. Leaves are cut from the plant to obtain natural fibers as the
main product three times a year. The harvest is done at regular
intervals but in different cultivated fields to achieve a constant fi-
ber production during the year. In previous studies, we could con-
firm that the juice coming from the process was diluted during the
rainy season and more concentrated during the dry season. After
48 h, on completion of the fermentation in both series of experiments,
low concentrations remained of reducing sugars, which
were not metabolized by the yeasts. Other sugars present in the
henequen juice are xylose, rafinose and arabinose (unpublished
data).
Ta