Physicochemical characterization, bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of the juice and flour of secondary cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica

Abstract

Prickly pears (Opuntia ficus-indica) are one of the most valued species due to their ability to develop on soils with low access to nutrients and water and great nutritional value in their fruits and leaves. However, the frequent pruning of "secondary cladodes" generates agroforestry residues thatdonothave a secondaryuse, hence the present study sought to characterize the nutritional and bioactive properties of the "secondary cladodes" from the district of Santiago de Tunato develop a baseline for its possible ulterioruse as raw material. For the assays, two types of samples were used: the juice and the flour of the cladode, in which a proximate analysis was conducted, and the concentration of polyphenols, Vitamin C, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity were determined. The juice presented a yield of 53% while the flour of 7.3%. Both the juice and the flour presented considerable amountsof polyphenols (105.1 mg GAE/100g -769 GAE/100g), vitamin C (56.2 mg AA mg/100g -114.6 mg AA mg/100g) and antioxidant capacity (1247.94 μmol Trolox/g -2585 μmol Trolox/g). Therefore, the results indicated that cladodes can be used to develop products with exciting potentialin the food industry.