Effects of the Consumption of Prickly Pear Cacti (Opuntia spp.) and its Products on Blood Glucose Levels and Insulin: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background and Objectives: There is confusion as to which component of the Opuntia spp. cacti has demonstrated anti-hyperglycemic effects or anti-diabetic properties. It is important to clarify these health benefits due to the increasing need for prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. The aim of this review is to identify the effects of Opuntia spp. cacti consumption on biomedical measures; glucose and insulin with consideration of its’ components; fruit, leaf and combined or unidentified Opuntia spp. products. Materials and Methods: Prior to commencing the searches, this systematic review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018108765). Following the PRISMA 2009 guidelines, six electronic databases (Food Science and Technology Abstracts (EBSCO), Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science and Cochrane) were searched for articles investigating the effect of Opuntia spp. consumption on glucose and insulin in humans. Results: Initially, 335 articles were sourced and filtered by exclusion criteria (human interventions, control trials and articles published in English) resulting in 20 relevant articles. The included studies were characterized by such plant components as fruit (n = 4), cladode (n = 12), and other Opuntia spp. products (n = 4), further separated by clinical populations (‘healthy’, hyperlipidemic, hypercholesterolemic, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus). The findings of this review indicate variations in effects between cacti components and products. Cladode and select Opuntia spp. products predominately demonstrated significant reductions in serum glucose and insulin, indicating potential as a functional food candidate. Prickly Pear fruit was predominately reported to have no significant effects on glucose or insulin. The quality of evidence appeared to vary based on the type of Opuntia spp. product used. Studies that used specifically the fruit or cladode had high risk of bias, whereas studies which used combined Opuntia spp. products had a lower risk of bias. Numerous mechanisms of action were proposed where positive findings were reported, with emphasis on dualistic glucose-dependent and independent actions, however, mechanisms require further elucidation. Conclusion: Currently, there is a lack of evidence to support the recommendation of using Opuntia spp. fruit products as an alternative or complementary therapy in the reduction of risk or management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. The Cladode does however show promise in potential glucose-lowering effects which warrant further investigation.

Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Semi-Processed Frozen Prickly Pear Juice as Affected by Cultivar and Harvest Time

“…The prickly pear fruit can be considered a healthy fruit, which is a property that has been attributed to its bioactive compounds, mainly represented by polyphenols, flavonoids and pigments such as betalains. Other authors reported the presence of vitamin C, carotenoids and taurine [1][2][3][4]. This fruit showed to be rich in polyphenolic compounds with a more antioxidant effect than vitamins.…”

Chemical and Mineral Composition, Kinetics of Degradation and in vitro Gas Production of Native Cactus

“…This indicates that such cacti should not be offered to ruminants as a sole source of food. They should be offered to them in conjunction with other ingredients that can meet the nutrient requirements of the species and the categories of animals (Prieto-Garcia et al, 2016;Gouws et al, 2019). Cavalcanti & Resende (2007), evaluating the effects of the use of C. jamacaru and P. gounellei on the weight gain of goats during drought periods, concluded that the supply of diets composed exclusively of cacti did not meet the nutritional requirements of animals kept in confinement.…”

An Optimized Protein Extraction Method for Gel-Free Proteomic Analysis of Opuntia Ficus-Indica

“…accumulate various secondary metabolites with health-promoting effects. Consuming the plant has a beneficial effect on serum glucose and insulin levels and its efficacy in weight management has been demonstrated through in vitro experiments and clinical populations [ 4 , 5 ]. The bioactive compound content varies considerably due to several factors, including genetic profile, phenological stage, and environmental stress exposure [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”