Chemical Composition and Nutritional Analysis of Seeds Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica.L)

Abstract

Background:The Prickly pear "Opuntia ficus-indica" is a xerophytic plant of the Cactaceae family, which represents a gold mine, can be exploited in several sectors.Objective:The present study describes and provides basic information on the physico-chemical properties, mineral and lipid compositions of the cactus seeds from Algeria (Relizane), in order to evaluate the nutritional value of the Opuntia extracts.Methods:The seed oil was extracted by soxhlet, and analyzed by GC-MS the physical properties were determined using standard methods of Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC).Results:The cactus powder and its seeds showed a content of 6.42% in lipids and 91.24% in ashes. Freshly extracted oil showed acid and peroxide values respectively 2.66 mg (KOH)g and 1.5Meq (O2)/Kg. Iodine and saponification values were 199.5 g (I2)/100 g and 181.44 mg (KOH)/g respectively. Main fatty acids identified by GC-MS were linoleic (C18:2), oleic (C18:1), palmitic (C16:0), palmitoleic (C16:1) and stearic (C18:0) acids with respective contents 60.23%, 13.35%, 14.20%, 1.05 and 3.12%. Mineral analysis revealed significant levels of calcium and potassium namely 72 and 3.50mg/100g respectively, and they contain no trace of the toxic compounds (lead and cadmium).Conclusion:The nopal fruit represents a very important nutritional value. This plant is far from being a simple cactus, it is a source of immense wealth.

Chemical Composition and Bioactivities of Egyptian Opuntia ficus–indica Seeds Oils Obtained by Conventional and Ultrasound-assisted Extraction Techniques

“…Prickly pear seeds extracted oil is primarily sold for cosmetics because of the high price associated with the labor-intensive and time-consuming production method [13]. This oil has several biological activities, including antioxidant [14], anti-inflammatory [15], anti-ulcer [16], antimicrobial [17], antitumor [18], antidiabetic [19], hypolipidemic [20] and UV radiation protection [21]. Extraction is the main step in seed oil procedure, where it evaluates both the quantity and the quality of the obtained oil.…”

Cactus: Chemical, nutraceutical composition and potential bio‐pharmacological properties

“…The conventional method requires the use of Soxhlet extraction with solvents like hexane and cyclohexane. Cyclohexane and a soxhlet extractor were recently used to isolate seed oil from O. ficus‐indica (Benattia et al, 2019). Koubaa et al (2017) compared the composition and biological properties of O. stricta seed oil recovered by SFE and conventional Soxhlet extraction with hexane.…”

“…Some studies have also been performed concerning the phytochemical analysis of Opuntia seeds, principally of oil composition.Recently,Ciriminna et al (2017) showed that the seeds oil from O. ficus-indica and O. dilleniid is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. GC-MS examined the lipid composition of O. ficus-indica seeds from Algeria, and several fatty acids were detected being linoleic acid, the major one(Benattia, Arrar, & Dergal, 2019). The Opuntia cladodes have also been studied as a source of bioactive molecules(El-Mostafa et al, 2014;Mena et al, 2018; Moussa-Ayoub et al, 2014;Msaddak et al, 2017;Rocchetti, Pellizzoni, Montesano, & Lucini, 2018).…”