Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities in Extracts of Fully Grown Cladodes of 8 Cultivars of Cactus Pear

Abstract

The antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of some cultivars of the nopal cactus have not been determined. In this study, 8 cultivars of nopal cacti from Mexico were assayed for phenolic content, antioxidant activities, and antimicrobial activities against Campylobacter Jejuni, Vibrio cholera, and Clostridium Perfringens. Plant material was washed, dried, and macerated in methanol. Minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) were determined using the broth microdilution method. Antioxidant activities were quantitatively determined using spectrophotometric methods. The MCBs of the nopal cacti ranged from 1.1 to 12.5 mg/mL for c. jejuni, 4.4 to 30 mg/mL for V. cholera, and 0.8 to 16 mg/mL for C. perfringens in the cultivars Cardon Blanco, Real de Catorce, and Jalpa, respectively. High quantities of total phenols and total flavonoids were found in the Jalpa cacti (3.80 mg of gallic acid equivalent GAE/g dry weight [DW] and 36.64 mg of quercetin equivalents [QE]/g DW, respectively). 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities (RSA) were correlated to bioactive compound contents. The Villanueva cacti had the highest %RSA at 42.31%, and the lowest activity was recorded in Copena V1 at 19.98%. In conclusion, we found that some of the 8 cactus pear cultivars studied may be used for their antioxidant compounds or antimicrobials to control or prevent the contamination of foods.

Cactus stem (Opuntia ficus‐indica Mill): anatomy, physiology and chemical composition with emphasis on its biofunctional properties

“…Several studies have been carried out with cactus stems which quantify their antioxidant capacity using DPPH • , ABTS •+ or as total phenol content. Sanchez et al . found that cladodes showed a low ability to catch the DPPH • radical in a range of 19–40%; this response can be explained by the widespread presence of monohydroxylated phenolic compounds according to Gallegos et al .…”

“…Among the biofunctional compounds reported, the presence of fiber, hydrocolloids, phenolics, chlorophyll, carotenoids, calcium and vitamin C stand out . Some of these compounds enable cladodes to inhibit reactive oxygen species (ROS) by up to 40% . Therefore, these biologically active components provide health benefits and reduce the risk of chronic degenerative diseases.…”

“…7 Some of these compounds enable cladodes to inhibit reactive oxygen species (ROS) by up to 40%. 8 Therefore, these biologically active components provide health benefits and reduce the risk of chronic degenerative diseases. Armijos 9 reported that a concentration of 20 ppm of cactus extract is capable of reducing the gene expression related to endothelial cell inflammation of the umbilical cord vein by 46.4%.…”

Cuantificación fisicoquímica en gorro turco [Melocactus zehntneri (Britton & Rose) Luetzelburg - Cactaceae]

“…(Nunes et al, 2014) y en cladodios del género Opuntia (Ginestra et al, 2009;Sánchez et al, 2014), especie que las personas tienen el costumbre de comer el cladodio. Esta falta de interés económico en especies del género Melocactus, pueden cambiar con el desarrollo de los estudios etnobotánicos, reportando los más diversos usos en la medicina de los pueblos tradicionales (Alves & Nascimento, 2010;Lucena et al, 2013;Lucena et al, 2014) en colaboración con los estudios farmacológicos y la estandarización de las técnicas y metodologías utilizadas en estos análisis.…”

“…Estudios sobre los compuestos bioactivos en varios vehículos (Corral-Aguayo et al, 2008), se están realizando, sobre todo en especies pertenecientes a las regiones áridas, la lucha diaria contra las condiciones más adversas, tales como la falta de agua, la luz del sol excesiva, ataques de plagas y enfermedades (Cuchillo et al, 2013), tratando de encontrar elementos que naturalmente están presentes y pueden actuar directamente en los alimentos, que manifiesten las propiedades medicinales y dietéticas (Ginestra et al, 2009;Dehbi et al, 2013;Sánchez et al, 2014).…”