Nutritional and antioxidant properties of pulp and seeds of two xoconostle cultivars (Opuntia joconostle F.A.C. Weber ex Diguet and Opuntia matudae Scheinvar) of high consumption in Mexico

Abstract

The genus Opuntia embraces different species of cactus, and many of them produce acid fruits known as xoconostle, which are considered valuable vegetable foods in Latin America. Xoconostle fruit contains an edible thick-acid-freshly mesocarp, and seeds that are considered as by-products. Given the high potential of its use and consumption, and the lack of information about its detailed chemical composition and bioactive compounds, the aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional and antioxidant properties of pulp and seeds of two highly consumed commercial cultivars of xoconostle fruits (Opuntia joconostle F.A.C. Weber ex Diguet, cv. Cuaresmeño, and Opuntia matudae Scheinvar, cv. Rosa).This investigation shows that the pulp of the studied xoconostle cultivars had an appreciable amount of soluble fiber and antioxidant compounds such as ascorbic acid, while the seeds are a source of fiber, phenolics, flavonoids, PUFAs and tocopherols (specially γ-tocopherol), which provide a good antioxidant capacity. In the light of these results, xoconostle fruits should be considered of great interest for either promoting the conventional consumption, and also as sources of bioactive compounds for the addition to other food products, so that all the nutrients present are fully used, instead of being discarded.

Seeds of Opuntia spp. as a novel high potential by-product: Phytochemical characterization and antioxidant activity

“…The seeds from both species presented fat percentages (O. microdasys: 9.2 g/100 g dw; O. macrorhiza: 11.3 g/100 g dw) significantly higher than those reported in other Opuntia species (Morales et al, 2012).…”

“…In both cases, the overall concentrations of soluble sugars were quite lower than those detected in the respective flowers and cladodes, which might indicate that soluble sugars were mobilized by anabolic pathways to synthesize storage polysaccharides in the seed. As far as we know, no previous results for soluble sugars have been reported for the seeds of these species, although they are in the same magnitude range of those obtained for other Opuntia species, like O. joconostle and O. matudae (Morales et al, 2012).…”

“…However, the prevalence in diene fatty acids, and particularly C18:2n6, was previously reported in other Opuntia species (Ramadan and Mörsel, 2003;Morales et al, 2012). These findings might be understood as an incentive to use the seeds of these Opuntia species in different applications, since polyunsaturated fatty acids are documented as having health-promoting properties (Lands, 2014).…”

“…Besides its organoleptic qualities, the Opuntia genus was previously reported as having antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiulcerogenic, anti-fungicide, anti-bacterial and anti-diabetic properties. Furthermore, different botanical components like the pulp, cladode or flower, have also been studied for their chemical composition and nutritional value (Maataoui et al, 2006;Ammar et al, 2012;Morales et al, 2012;Chahdoura et al, 2014a,b). The seeds of Opuntia spp., which are tightly packed together in a mucilaginous structure inside the endocarp, contain high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic and linolenic acids, which are known as having a wide variety of health benefits due to their role as biosynthetic precursors of eicosanoids (Simopoulos, 2002;Mannoubi et al, 2009).…”

Extensive profiling of three varieties of Opuntia spp. fruit for innovative food ingredients

“…The concentration of tocopherols in the same genus, but different species was assayed by Morales, Ramírez-Moreno, Sanchez-Mata, Carvalho, and Ferreira (2012), with total tocopherol content ranging between 140 and 220 μg/100 g FW in Opuntia joconostle and matudae. Only the values obtained by OS are in concordance with those revealed by Morales et al (2012), while samples OG and OE only displayed 59 and 43 μg/ 100 g, respectively. Tocopherols are the major lipid-soluble antioxidant in the cell antioxidant defence system, nonetheless, the human body is not able to synthesize these substances using its own metabolic pathways, therefore it has to be obtained from the diet (Sýs, Švecová, Švancara, & Metelka, 2017).…”