Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Other Health Effects of Dragon Fruit and Potential Delivery Systems for Its Bioactive Compounds

Abstract

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus genus) has the potential for the prevention of diseases associated with inflammatory and oxidative processes. We aimed to comprehensively review dragon fruit health effects, economic importance, and possible use in delivery systems. Pubmed, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched, and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guidelines were followed. Studies have shown that pitaya can exert several benefits in conditions such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer due to the presence of bioactive compounds that may include vitamins, potassium, betacyanin, p-coumaric acid, vanillic acid, and gallic acid. Moreover, pitaya has the potential to be used in food and nutraceutical products as functional ingredients, natural colorants, ecologically correct and active packaging, edible films, preparation of photoprotective products, and additives. Besides the importance of dragon fruit as a source of bioactive compounds, the bioavailability is low. The development of delivery systems such as gold nanoparticles with these compounds can be an alternative to reach target tissues.

Functional, antioxidant, and sensory properties of mixed‐fruit (pitaya, watermelon, and mint) and pitaya wines

“…and hydrolysis with the specific microbial strains (Melini & Melini, 2021;Othman et al, 2009). Previous studies also presented decreased total phenolic compounds after 8 days of fermentation (Yuan et al, 2022).…”

“…According to previous study, pitaya fruit is rich in vitamins, dietary fiber, betacyanin, organic acids, amino acids, and sugars. Studies suggest that pitaya betacyanins exhibit antidiabetic effects and modulate glycemic response (Nishikito et al, 2023 ). In this study, watermelon and mint were combined with pitaya to produce a novel tropical‐flavored wine.…”

Integrated metabolic profiles and microbial communities to reveal the beneficial effect of red pitaya on early constipation

“…Pitaya is the fruit of Hylocereus undatus Britt of the genus of Hylocereus undatus and Ophiophora . 1 As a well-known tropical fruit, pitaya garners widespread popularity for its distinctive taste. It is commonly classified based on the color of its skin and flesh into red, white, or yellow varieties.…”

An eye catching and comprehensive review on dragon fruit (An exotic super fruit)

“…It can be eaten raw or mixed with drinks, sweets, and jellies. The food and pharmaceutical sectors can also employ the pigments as coloring agents [1] . The fruit of various tropical climbing plants in the family Cactaceae, genus Hylocereus, is known as dragon fruit or pitaya.…”