Prickly Pear Powder
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Opuntia spp.: Chemistry, Bioactivity and Industrial Applications
Author: Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan
language: en
Publisher: Springer Nature
Release Date: 2021-09-27
The Opuntia fruits, commonly known as cactus pears or prickly pears, have been suggested by the Food and Agriculture Organization to be a promising and strategic crop in regions suffering from lack of water. In Mexico, India, South Africa, and the Mediterranean, the Opuntia fruits have become popular due to their nutritive value and health-promoting benefits, including antioxidant, antiulcerogenic and antiatherogenic traits and protective effects against LDL oxidation. Additionally, readily absorbable sugars, high vitamin C and mineral content, and a pleasant flavour make Opuntia tailor-made for novel foods. Due to their ecological advantages, high functional value, and health-related traits, Opuntia fruits can be highly exploited in different food processing applications. For instance, Opuntia cactus fruits are used for the preparation of juices and marmalades; Opuntia cactus plants are used to feed animals in African and Latin American countries; Peruvian farmers cultivate Opuntia cactus for growing the cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) insect and producing the natural dye carmine; and the commercial production of food and non-food products from Opuntia has been established in Mexico, USA and several Mediterranean countries. Opuntia spp.: Chemistry, Bioactivity and Industrial Applications creates a multidisciplinary forum of discussion on Opuntia cactus with special emphasis on its horticulture, post-harvest, marketability, chemistry, functionality, health-promoting properties, technology and processing. The text includes detailed discussion of the impact of traditional and innovative processing on the recovery of high-added value compounds from Opuntia spp. by-products. Later chapters explore the potential applications of Opuntia spp. in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.
Exotic Fruits Reference Guide
Exotic Fruits Reference Guide is the ultimate, most complete reference work on exotic fruits from around the world. The book focuses on exotic fruit origin, botanical aspects, cultivation and harvest, physiology and biochemistry, chemical composition and nutritional value, including phenolics and antioxidant compounds. This guide is in four-color and contains images of the fruits, in addition to their regional names and geographical locations. Harvest and post-harvest conservation, as well as the potential for industrialization, are also presented as a way of stimulating interest in consumption and large scale production. - Covers exotic fruits found all over the world, described by a team of global contributors - Provides quick and easy access to botanical information, biochemistry, fruit processing and nutritional value - Features four-color images throughout for each fruit, along with its regional name and geographical location - Serves as a useful reference for researchers, industrial practitioners and students
Opuntia spp.: Superfood of the Future and its Biotechnological Potential
Author: Sandra Pérez Álvarez
language: en
Publisher: Deep Science Publishing
Release Date: 2025-04-11
Opuntia spp. is a cactus popularly known as nopal in Mexico. Due to its characteristics, it is typically found in arid and semi-arid regions. Currently, 300 species of the genus Opuntia are known, approximately 100 of which are present in Mexico, and about 40% of these originate from the Chihuahua Desert. The Opuntia group comprises remarkable plants typically diverse in their environmental growth habits. Creeping and shrub species are forms bristled with branches; a tree is formed when older cladodes change into cylindrical shapes. Most of them have spines, which is quite a cactaceous feature; however, some spineless examples have also been recorded. Mostly, they produce true leaves, but only the young shoots of these plants have such short-lived leaves. A prickly pear is a shrub-like plant, woody in trunk and branches, composed of cladodes. These cladodes are referred to as nopalitos when they are young and succulent, and as pencas when mature. It is known that in the past, Opuntia species were propagated by seeds or vegetatively using rooting offsets or grafting. However, these methods are not useful for propagation on a large scale. For mass production of endangered and economically valuable cacti, in vitro culture techniques such as somatic embryogenesis, and plant regeneration via indirect or direct organogenesis are applied. Still a major staple food in traditional Mexican cuisine, nopal (Opuntia spp.) is generally consumed as a vegetable in salads, while its prickly pear is eaten as a fresh fruit. Opuntia ficus-indica is the most widely cultivated species of Opuntia. Its fruits typically have a pulpy, sweet flesh with colors ranging from white-grayish and yellow to orange, red, or purple. Depending on the variety, the fruit contains varying amounts of pulp and usually has a thin skin. Nopal offers an extensive portfolio of products and by-products that promise great benefit to many, especially those who are living in regions experiencing water scarcity.