Numerous natural compounds perform pharmaceutical, antimycotic and antitoxic purposes in the body system. The aim was to evaluate new phytoconstituents that provide antimycotoxigenic properties against mycotoxins. Bioactive materials chosen were fruit peels and cladodes of wild Opuntia ficus-indica containing a measurable quantity of bioactive phytochemicals.
Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) belongs to the family Cactaceae. Family Cactaceae is reported to contain about 130 genera and nearly 1500 species. This plant is native of Mexico and it is widely distributed in Mexico and in all American hemispheres as well as in Africa and in the Mediterranean basin.
This work aimed to study the possibility of using plant matter, Opuntia ficus indica juice (OFIJ), for conditioning the Beni-Messous (Algiers) wastewater treatment plant sludge. The optimum dosage of OFIJ was found to be 0.4 g×kg-1 of dry matter, for which the residual turbidity, the dryness of the filtration cake, and the specific resistance of filtration were found to be 2.5 NTU, 24% and 0.13×1012 m×kg-1, respectively.
This research studies the crystalline compounds present in nopal (Opuntia ficus- indica) cladodes. The identification of the crystalline structures was performed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.
Color, bioactive compounds and sensory evaluation of five Opuntia dillenii drinks mixed with strawberry and barley were studied during storage under cooling (4±˚C). It was found that Opuntia dillenii fruits had high levels of ascorbic acid (AA) (55.29 mg/100g), betacyanins (56.91), betaxanthin (45.64), total phenolic compounds (TCP) (179.30 mg/100g) and antioxidant capacity (AC) (53.32%). Mixtures with Opuntia dillenii had excellent red color and the ratio 3:1 (Opuntia dillenii: strawberry, T2) had the highest values of a*, color index and Chroma (20.18, 1.050 and 27.21 respectively).
Seeds and pulp of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) were compared in terms of fatty acids, lipid classes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins and b-carotene. Total lipids (TL) in lyophilised seeds and pulp were 98.8 (dry weight) and 8.70 g/kg, respectively. High amounts of neutral lipids were found (87.0% of TL) in seed oil, while glycolipids and phospholipids occurred at high levels in pulp oil (52.9% of TL). In both oils, linoleic acid was the dominating fatty acid, followed by palmitic and oleic acids, respectively.
In recent years, the use of natural products became a big necessity in order to prevent human health and to protect the environment besides risks caused by using synthetic chemicals. However, Opuntia-ficus-indica mucilage had an ample application for ethno medicine, there is no reports focusing on their chemical composition and biological activity. In this work, we aimed to investigate, for the first time, the antioxidant activity, the total phenolic and the flavonoid contents, the antimicrobial and allelopathic activities of the mucilage extracted from Opuntia-ficus- indica rackets collected at three different ages (1, 2 and 3 years old) originated from three Tunisian provenances (Sbeitla, Matmata and Ouslatia).
CO2 uptake, water vapor conductance, and biomass production of Opuntia ficus-indica, a Crassulacean acid metabolism species, were studied at CO2 concentrations of 370, 520, and 720 pL 1-' i n open-top chambers during a 23-week period.
Opuntia ficus-indica, commonly referred to as prickly pear, belongs to the family Cactaceae.
It is used as both for food and medicine in different countries throughout the world. It contains
diverse bioactive compounds which make this plant to withstand extreme drought conditions
in relatively poor soil. The present review is aimed at the morphological characters of Opuntia
ficus-indica with its food and medicinal values.
§ 2I4. Opuntia Ficus-Indica, DC.-It may not be out of place to note a few things about the Opuntia Ficus-Indica, of Southern Italy and other Mediterranean countries. Its main use in the Orient appears to be first to serve as a hedge, and next to furnish food. In Cyprus I have seen it in thickets of considerable extent.