Articles
Utilization of size B Mexican prickly pear (Opuntia spp.) cladodes for the obtention of bioactive compounds with antifungal activity
Article number
1452_57
Pages
441 – 446
Language
English
Abstract
Prickly pear cladodes (Opuntia spp.), often referred to as nopalitos, are widely consumed and commercialized in Mexico.
There is an annual per capita consumption of 6.3 kg of nopalitos, while the cladode production represents 5.4% of the vegetable production in Mexico.
Based on Mexican regulations, Opuntia cladodes can be classified depending on their size, as the most commercialized sizes range between 15 and 20 cm.
Prickly pear cactus is an important source of nutrients within the Mexican diet, including water, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
However, as cladodes increase in size, they become more fibrous and less attractive to consumers, resulting in the generation of more agricultural waste.
In this work, size B cladodes (23.52±2.43 cm) were valorized by exploring their potential as a source of antioxidants with antifungal properties.
For this purpose, the reflux extraction of antioxidants in combination with a microwave-assisted sample pretreatment was optimized through a Box-Behnken experimental design by modifying three parameters (liquid/solid ratio, ethanol percentage, and microwave pre-treatment time). This design of experiments (DOE) was assessed and validated with three responses, namely the total phenolic content (TPC, Folin-Ciocalteu), the antioxidant activity (AA, ABTS method), and the extract yield (EY). The antifungal activity of the optimized extract exhibiting a TPC, AA, and EY of 33.47±0.6, 259.66±4.42, and 4.16±0.22, respectively, was assessed by the radial growth assay in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium.
The optimized extract portrayed antifungal activity to a certain extent against Colletotrichum gloesosporioides, Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium sp., Curvularia sp., and Helminthosporium sp., and the identified phenolic compounds in the extract by HPLC-UV were gallic acid, 3.4-hydroxybenzoic acid, rutin, and myricetin.
These findings denote the utilization of cladodes that are commonly utilized as forage, for the obtention of metabolites with bioactive properties.
There is an annual per capita consumption of 6.3 kg of nopalitos, while the cladode production represents 5.4% of the vegetable production in Mexico.
Based on Mexican regulations, Opuntia cladodes can be classified depending on their size, as the most commercialized sizes range between 15 and 20 cm.
Prickly pear cactus is an important source of nutrients within the Mexican diet, including water, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
However, as cladodes increase in size, they become more fibrous and less attractive to consumers, resulting in the generation of more agricultural waste.
In this work, size B cladodes (23.52±2.43 cm) were valorized by exploring their potential as a source of antioxidants with antifungal properties.
For this purpose, the reflux extraction of antioxidants in combination with a microwave-assisted sample pretreatment was optimized through a Box-Behnken experimental design by modifying three parameters (liquid/solid ratio, ethanol percentage, and microwave pre-treatment time). This design of experiments (DOE) was assessed and validated with three responses, namely the total phenolic content (TPC, Folin-Ciocalteu), the antioxidant activity (AA, ABTS method), and the extract yield (EY). The antifungal activity of the optimized extract exhibiting a TPC, AA, and EY of 33.47±0.6, 259.66±4.42, and 4.16±0.22, respectively, was assessed by the radial growth assay in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium.
The optimized extract portrayed antifungal activity to a certain extent against Colletotrichum gloesosporioides, Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium sp., Curvularia sp., and Helminthosporium sp., and the identified phenolic compounds in the extract by HPLC-UV were gallic acid, 3.4-hydroxybenzoic acid, rutin, and myricetin.
These findings denote the utilization of cladodes that are commonly utilized as forage, for the obtention of metabolites with bioactive properties.
Authors
V.A. Mirón-Mérida, J. Yañez-Fernández, P. Gutiérrez-Macías, M. Martínez-Ávila, B.E. Barragán-Huerta
Keywords
Opuntia cladodes, phenolic compounds, microwave pretreatment, design of experiments, antifungal compounds, antioxidants
Groups involved
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