Mexico presents the highest richness of Opuntia Mill. species. These species are an important economic factor for the country, and source of nutrients, bioactive compounds, pigments, and nutraceuticals which can be of interest for the food and pharmaceutical industry. However, there are some wild Opuntia species in the Chihuahua desert, that have not been analyzed to establish their properties and potential use. The aim of study was to evaluate the sensory, physicochemical and protein profile in wild prickly pear fruits (O. macrocentra Engelm. (OM), O. phaeacantha Engelm. (OP), and O. engelmannii Salm-Dyck ex Engelmann. (OE)) from Samalayuca, Chihuahua and compare them with two commercial prickly pear fruits (O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (green-OFG, red-OFR). The sensory profile of wild species was characterized by highest color, odor, and sour taste compared to the commercial fruits. Pulp, peel, and seeds from wild prickly pear fruits showed lower pH, and higher titratable total acidity, total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, antioxidant capacity, protein, lipids, ash, carbohydrates (only peel), and crude fiber content than commercial Opuntia species. Furthermore, O. engelmannii showed a tendency to present the highest betacyanins, betaxanthins, and betalains contents. A total of 181, 122, 113, 183 and 140 different proteins were identified in OM, OP, OE, OFG, OFR species, respectively. All species showed the highest enrichment in three main pathways such as amino acids biosynthesis, glycolysis (dark)/gluconeogenesis (light), and the citric acid cycle. The wild prickly pear fruits of this study showed important nutritional, protein, and antioxidant properties with biological interest, and can be a potential source of functional ingredients and nutraceuticals.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109909 | DOI Listing |
Front Plant Sci
December 2024
Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), Institute of Agro-bioengineering, College of Life Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
Pitaya (; 2n=22) is an important fruit crop from the family, originally domesticated in Mexico and the USA, and is now widely cultivated for its nutritional benefits. It is characterized by its distinctive triangular-shaped stems and large, showy flowers, thriving in arid and semi-arid environments, particularly in hot, dry climates. However, systematic chromosomal studies, including chromosomal mapping of cytogenetic markers in pitaya, are limited, presenting challenges for its cytogenetic improvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand)
November 2024
Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
During the field visits in growing season of 2022 in Dammam Region of Saudi Arabia, begomovirus-like symptoms including leaf curling, leaf cupping, leaf distortion, vein thickening and reduced leaf size were observed in squash and cucumber fields. Twenty-five samples were collected from each crop and PCR amplification was done using general diagnostic begomovirus primers (AC-1048/AV-494 and Begomo I/Begomo II). The obtained results showed desired sized amplified DNA fragments (550 bp and 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
November 2024
CEMMPRE, ARISE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Rua Luís Reis Santos, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal.
This study investigates the structural, chemical, and morphological properties of CuO nanoparticles synthesized via a green synthesis route using - cladode extract, with a focus on the effects of stepwise versus direct calcination. Raman spectroscopy revealed the presence of CuO, NaCO, and NaSO, with the latter two being associated with elements inherited from the cactus extracts. XRD patterns confirmed the presence of crystalline CuO and NaCO phases, with the low content of NaSO inferred to be amorphous.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolymers (Basel)
November 2024
Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Wilfrido Massieu s/n, U.P. Adolfo López Mateos, Gustavo A. Madero, Ciudad de México CP 07738, Mexico.
Mucilages are valuable to the food industry, but the solvents used to extract and concentrate them are detrimental to the environment. Therefore, environmentally friendly technologies that preserve the properties of biopolymers and reduce the use of solvents are being sought. In this work, the mucilage of (mesocarp-endocarp) was extracted by two methods: In the first one, the pulp from the mesocarp-endocarp was extracted by ethanol precipitation and centrifugation cycles, then dried at room temperature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
November 2024
Biodiversity Conservation Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece.
A checklist of Lesvos Island's non-native vascular flora is presented. Through the literature and a roadside survey, we recorded 187 non-native plant taxa, representing 12% of the total regional flora. A total of 37 taxa were reported for the first time for Lesvos, including three taxa that are also new to the Greek non-native flora.
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