Aguamiel as a prebiotic ingredient: Composition, processing, and functional potential for gut microbiota modulation

Abstract

Aguamiel, the fresh sap of Agave, holds cultural and nutritional relevance and has been increasingly studied as a functional prebiotic ingredient with documented effects on gut microbiota modulation. This study aimed to evaluate the bibliometric landscape of scientific research on aguamiel and Agave-derived fructans by retrieving original articles from the Web of Science Core Collection (2006–2024) using a structured Boolean query and analyzing the dataset with R bibliometrix and VOSviewer to interpret research trends, technological approaches, and health-related implications. Data were processed to generate descriptive indicators, co-authorship and keyword co-occurrence networks, temporal evolution maps, and conceptual structure analyzes, enabling the identification of dominant themes, emerging topics, and research gaps. This is a niche field with moderate growth, concentrated in Mexico with limited international collaboration, and a thematic progression from compositional profiling and fermentation ecology toward applied approaches such as probiotic stabilization, synbiotic product design, and enzymatic valorization. Core motor themes included fructans, fructooligosaccharides, inulin, and gut microbiota modulation, while emerging clusters highlighted encapsulation strategies, circular bioeconomy models, and sustainable bioprocessing of Agave residues. Highly cited studies bridged microbial community analyzes, technological optimization, and functional food applications, illustrating a transition from traditional ecological knowledge to modern industrial innovation. These findings demonstrated the evolving interdisciplinary nature of aguamiel research and underscored the need for standardized methodologies, expanded clinical validation, and broader international collaboration. The study provided an integrated overview of the field, supporting future efforts to harness aguamiel’s functional potential and position it within sustainable food systems.