Effect of the type of acetic fermentation process on the chemical composition of prickly pear vinegar (Opuntia ficus‐indica)

Abstract

BACKGROUND In several countries, the cactus plant (Opuntia ficus‐indica (L). Mill.) has received renewed attention because of its ecological, socio‐economic and environmental role. In this study, prickly pear vinegar was produced employing two types of acetification processes: surface and submerged culture. Both acetification processes were performed at different temperatures (30, 37, 40 °C) by using two different species of thermotolerant acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacter malorum and Gluconobacter oxydans). Polyphenols and volatile compounds analyzed by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and stir bar sorptive extraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, respectively, were considered as the main variables to determine the effect of the acetification process on the quality of the vinegar. RESULTS As a result, 15 polyphenols and 70 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in the vinegar samples produced by both acetification processes. The results showed that the surface acetification method led to an increase in the concentration of phenolic components, which was higher than that in the submerged process. However, a significant increase in volatile compounds predominated by esters and acids was observed when submerged culture acetification was employed, whereas alcohols were predominant in surface culture vinegars. Moreover, multivariate statistical analysis showed that the components that mostly contributed to the differentiation between all vinegar samples were the volatile compounds. CONCLUSION It has been proved that prickly pear vinegar could be successfully produced at higher temperatures than usual, by employing thermotolerant bacteria, and that the type of acetification method significantly affects the final quality of the vinegar produced. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Physicochemical, Nutritional, and Medicinal Properties of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. and Its Main Agro-Industrial Use: A Review

“…Then, 15 polyphenols and 70 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in the PP vinegar samples produced by both acetification processes, but the phenolic content from surface culture acetification was higher, and the submerged culture was a faster and more efficient acetification method because of the higher concentration of acetic acid in the PP vinegar. With this study, they verified that PP vinegar can be successfully produced at higher temperatures than usual by employing thermotolerant bacteria and that the type of acetification method significantly affects the final quality of the vinegar produced [ 150 ].…”

Characterization of Fruit Vinegars via Bioactive and Organic Acid Profile Using Chemometrics

“…For the phenolic compounds, there was, respectively, a 91.26%, 91.85%, and 92.57% relationship between the quercetin-p-coumaric acid, quercetin-hesperidin, and hesperidin-ferulic acid compound couples (Supplementary Table S1). Es-sbata et al [41] evaluated cactus plant vinegar production, focusing on phenolic and volatile compounds, particularly emphasizing the acidification process. The researchers identified a correlation among the compounds belonging to the tyrosol, hesperidin, naringenin, protocatechualdehyde, and ferulic acid groups, as well as among the compounds belonging to the catechin, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid groups.…”