Opuntia Fruits as Food Enriching Ingredient, the First Step towards New Functional Food Products

Consumer interest in foods with enhanced nutritional quality has increased in recent years. The nutritional and bioactive characterization of fruits and their byproducts, as well as their use in the formulation of new food products, is advisable, contributing to decrease the global concerns related to food waste and food security. Moreover, the compounds present in these raw materials and the study of their biological properties can promote health and help to prevent some chronic diseases. Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (prickly pear) is a plant that grows wild in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, being a food source for ones and a potential for others, but not properly valued. This paper carries out an exhaustive review of the scientific literature on the nutritional composition and bioactive compounds of prickly pear and its constituents, as well as its main biological activities and applications. It is a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins and bioactive compounds. Many of its natural compounds have interesting biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and antimicrobial. The antioxidant power of prickly pear makes it a good candidate as an ingredient of new food products with fascinating properties for health promotion and/or to be used as natural extracts for food, pharmaceutic or cosmetic applications. In addition, it could be a key player in food security in many arid and semi-arid regions of the world, where there are often no more plants.

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“…Oniszczuk et al [ 99 ] added 2.5–15% of prickly pear fruits and obtained a gluten-free pasta with good antioxidant properties [ 99 ].…”

Section: Current Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.: A Multi-Benefit Potential to Be Exploited

et al. 2021

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“…Oniszczuk et al [49] GF pasta (from a blend of rice and field bean flour) added with chestnut fruit (…”

Section: Strategies To Modulate Phenolic Compound Content In Pastamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Oniszczuk et al investigated the phenolic profile of GF pasta prepared with a blend of rice and field bean flour, enriched with different amounts (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5% and 15%) of pear prickly fruit (Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill.) [49]. The latter is a source of phenolic compounds and also provides vitamins (C, B1, B2, A, and E), minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus), and other bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids and betalains.…”

Section: Powders and Extracts From Plant Foods And Food By-productsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenolic Compounds and Bioaccessibility Thereof in Functional Pasta

Melini¹,

Melini²,

Acquistucci³

2020

Antioxidants

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Consumption of food products rich in phenolic compounds has been associated to reduced risk of chronic disease onset. Daily consumed cereal-based products, such as bread and pasta, are not carriers of phenolic compounds, since they are produced with refined flour or semolina. Novel formulations of pasta have been thus proposed, in order to obtain functional products contributing to the increase in phenolic compound dietary intake. This paper aims to review the strategies used so far to formulate functional pasta, both gluten-containing and gluten-free, and compare their effect on phenolic compound content, and bioaccessibility and bioavailability thereof. It emerged that whole grain, legume and composite flours are the main substituents of durum wheat semolina in the formulation of functional pasta. Plant by-products from industrial food wastes have been also used as functional ingredients. In addition, pre-processing technologies on raw materials such as sprouting, or the modulation of extrusion/extrusion-cooking conditions, are valuable approaches to increase phenolic content in pasta. Few studies on phenolic compound bioaccessibility and bioavailability in pasta have been performed so far; however, they contribute to evaluating the usefulness of strategies used in the formulation of functional pasta.

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“…In this context, Opuntia ficus-indica is an important source of vitamins C, B1, B2, A, and E and minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus [19], thereby presenting beneficial proprieties for human health with its consumption [13]. Moreover, it is used to treat diseases such as obesity, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, hypercholesterolemia, and cardiovascular disorders [20,21], and it also presents anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, antimicrobial, and neuroprotective properties [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fruit of Opuntia is eaten in both fresh food and processed forms due its strong organoleptic characteristics and high sugar content [19]. In fact, it is used to make food such as bread, nachos, tortillas, juice, jam [26], and biscuits [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opuntia ficus-indica as an Ingredient in New Functional Pasta: Consumer Preferences in Italy

Palmieri¹,

Suardi²,

Stefanoni³

et al. 2021

Foods

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Opuntia ficus-indica is a source of minerals and vitamins and has recently been used as ingredient to make a new functional variety of pasta. Italy was the first country in the world to produce pasta and is also the second largest producer of Opuntia in the world. According to an Italian sample, this study considers the main factors that could influence consumers when choosing functional pasta (featuring Opuntia) and characterizes distinct hypothetical consumer segments in terms of their food habits, pasta choices, and perceptions toward functional pasta featuring Opuntia. Data were collected using a web-based survey and with 328 respondents. Factor analysis (FA) with orthogonal rotation (varimax) was used to simplify the observed variables and hierarchical cluster analysis was performed with the FA results. Seven clusters were identified and the main results show that the level of education plays an important role in the perception of functional pasta. In fact, the perceptions of well-educated people differed from poorly-educated people. Moreover, the results showed significant respondent interest regarding health benefits and the nutritional and environmental aspects of functional pasta, which should encourage people’s acceptance and consumption of this new functional food. In addition, the respondent preferences reflect a value of experience towards the pasta, i.e., the belief of cooking typical Italian pasta. This means that Opuntia used for the production of functional pasta should maintain the organoleptic and physical properties of durum wheat-based pasta. In addition, respondent preferences for pasta featuring Opuntia could also be driven by its price.

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Opuntia Fruits as Food Enriching Ingredient, the First Step towards New Functional Food Products

Cited by 31 publications

References 28 publications

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.: A Multi-Benefit Potential to Be Exploited

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.: A Multi-Benefit Potential to Be Exploited

Phenolic Compounds and Bioaccessibility Thereof in Functional Pasta

Opuntia ficus-indica as an Ingredient in New Functional Pasta: Consumer Preferences in Italy

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