Bioactivity, proximate, mineral and volatile profiles along the flowering stages of Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.): defining potential applications

Abstract

Opuntia spp. flowers have been traditionally used for medical purposes, mostly because of their diversity in bioactive molecules with health promoting properties. The proximate, mineral and volatile compound profiles, together with the cytotoxic and antimicrobial properties were characterized in O. microdasys flowers at different maturity stages, revealing several statistically significant differences. O. microdasys stood out mainly for its high contents of dietary fiber, potassium and camphor, and its high activities against HCT15 cells, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus versicolor and Penicillium funiculosum. The vegetative stage showed the highest cytotoxic and antifungal activities, whilst the full flowering stage was particularly active against bacterial species. The complete dataset has been classified by principal component analysis, achieving clearly identifiable groups for each flowering stage, elucidating also the most distinctive features, and comprehensively profiling each of the assayed stages. The results might be useful to define the best flowering stage considering practical application purposes.

Bioactivity, hydrophilic, lipophilic and volatile compounds in pulps and skins of Opuntia macrorhiza and Opuntia microdasys fruits

“…Camphor was also the major compound in the fruit skins of O. macrorhiza (39%), which also showed significant percentages of nonanal (6.9%), cis-linalool oxide (6.5%), phenylethyl alcohol (6.5%), and translinalool oxide (6.3%). The predominance of camphor is in agreement with the volatile profiles that were previously characterized in different O. microdasys flowering stages (Chahdoura et al, 2016). This compound was previously reported for its biological properties and industrial applications, particularly in medical products (Santos & Cabot, 2015).…”

“…The second and third most abundant organic acids in Opuntia skins were malic and oxalic acid, both detected in quantities around 1 g/100 g dw. In comparison to other botanical parts, fruit skins contain higher levels of organic acids than cladodes (Chahdoura et al, 2014a) and flowers (Chahdoura et al, 2016), which, nonetheless, have higher quantities than seeds (Chahdoura et al, 2015a). As far as we know, there are no reports describing the organic acids composition in the pulps and skins of the Opuntia species studied herein; however, some previous works reporting the chemical characterization of O. joconostle, O. matudae (Morales et al, 2012), O. ficus-indica, O. lindheimeri, O. streptacantha and O. stricta var.…”

“…All stages of volatile compounds analysis were detailed in a previous report (Chahdoura et al, 2016). The same solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) sampling and desorption conditions were applied for all samples.…”

“…However, Opuntia spp. also contain high levels of volatiles (with a high predominance of camphor) (Chahdoura et al, 2016), which also represent a relevant field of study, owing to their progressive use by food and pharmaceutical industries (Mekni et al, 2013).…”

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

“…The fungicidal power of OE against T. viride presented 3-fold lower concentrations (higher potential) than the fungicidal power displayed by bifonazole. Chahdoura et al (2016), tested the antimicrobial activity from Opuntia microdasys flowers and reported lower effects on their samples compared to OS, OG and OE extracts. Polyphenols and other biofunctional molecules, such as betalains, have shown the capacity to induce cellular damage in pathogenical microorganisms (Azeredo, 2009;Sansano, Rivas, PinaPérez, Martinez, & Rodrigo, 2017).…”