Physico-chemical characterization of prickly pear (Opunicia Ficus indica) in the semi-arid region of Bahia State, Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil, prickly pear has gained increasing attention, mainly due to its nutritional benefits of health promotion, however, its postharvest conservation is still incipient and has to be evaluated. The objective of this work was to evaluate the physical and physico-chemical characteristics of prickly pear from three municipalities in the semi-arid region of the state of Bahia-Brazil. The fruits were harvested at random at the commercial harvest point stage, when the bark began to show a change of color from green to yellowish green. Data were subjected to analysis of variance, using the software GENES software, and the averages were compared using the Tukey test at the 5% probability level. The physical and chemical characteristics of the fruits were evaluated. Evaluating the effect of the place of cultivation on these characteristics, it is verified that the municipality of Guanambi presented the lowest value of acidity and higher pH, proving that there is climatic influence on the physico-chemical characteristics of the fruits. It was verified that the values found for the different variables studied, cactus pear, from the municipalities of Guanambi and Riacho de Santana present commercial properties more interesting for in natura consumption and agroindustrial use.

Physicochemical properties of wild grown prickly pear fruits (Opuntia ficus-indica) in Yemen

“…It measures the sweet-acid balance of foods. A high °brix/acidity ratio indicates there are more sugars than acids in the fruit (Nunes et al, 2017). The results in Table 3 showed that the °brix/acidity ratio in prickly pear pulp was 178.87.…”

“…It could be because the fruit samples included were wild-grown and un-irrigated, as well as the low rainfall rate during this study in the regions where the prickly pear plants grow. Nunes et al (2017) reported that the weight of fruits that originated from high annual rainfall regions is higher than fruits from the lowest annual rainfall regions. When they were ready to be picked, the fruit and pulp of prickly pear plants that were given extra water or water from a business were bigger (Zegbe, 2020).These findings suggest that the low weight of fruits found in this study is likely due to environmental conditions, including limited water availability and wild growth, which have a significant effect on the production of prickly pear fruits.…”

“…The soluble solids content of the fruits is an important factor in fruit juice production. Fruits with higher soluble solids content are more palatable than fruits with lower soluble solids content (Nunes et al, 2017). This is because fruits with higher soluble solids content typically have more intense sweetness and are juicier.…”

“…Lekhuleni et al (2021) reported that the titratable acidity in South African orange, purple, and green prickly pear fruit was 0.03-0.06%.The prickly pear had a higher titratable acidity value of 0.22% (Mohammed et al, 2014). Nunes et al (2017) reported that the titratable acidity in prickly pear varieties from the semi-arid region of the state of Bahia, Brazil, was 0.51%. The titratable acidity of Egyptian red and yellow prickly pear juice was 0.36-0.41% (Abou-Zaid et al, 2022), whereas the purple and green cactus pear fruit juice was 0.48-0.59% (Ibrahim et al, 2021).…”