CACTUSNET

NEWSLETTER

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

ORGANIZATION OF THE
UNITED NATIONS

INTERNATIONAL CENTER
FOR AGRICULTURAL
RESEARCH IN THE DRY
AREAS

FAO-ICARDA
INTERNATIONAL
TECHNICAL COOPERATION
NETWORK ON CACTUS

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE
SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO
ARGENTINA

CACTUSNET. Issue 11. December 2007

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas/ North Africa Program
Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Argentina

Table of content
Editorial
Scientific and technical contributions

2
3

Ali Nefzaoui, Monica Nazareno, and M. El Mourid. Review Of Medicinal

Uses Of Cactus.

Mnica A. Nazareno and Evangelina Gonzlez. Antioxidant Properties

Of Cactus Products.

18

Helmut Sinzinger. Antihyperlipidemic Effect Of Cactus Products.

29

Catherine Thimonier and Karen Jauntre. Healthy Lipophilic Fiber from

Cactus.

33

Monia Ennouri. Beneficial Effect Of Opuntia Ficus Indica Seeds And Oil
On Animal Health.

36

Saida Ncibi, Dalel Brahim, Amira Akacha, Mohamed Naceur Krifi, Sami
Souid and Lazhar Zourgui. Biochemical and Immunolgical Toxicity of
Chlorpyrifos in Mice.

42

Changping Zou.
Chemoprevention.

47

Cactus

Pear:

Natural

Product

In

Cancer

Maria A. Livrea. Antioxidant activity of cactus pear fruits and bioavailability

of betalain components in healthy humans.

49

Abderrahman Ait Hamou. An Overview On Medicinal And Cosmetic Uses

Of Cactus In Morocco.

51

Hind Hammouch, Laila Bennghmouch, Abdellah Srhiri, Najat Hajjaji.

Inhibition Of Iron Corrosion Using Opuntia Ficus Indica Extract.

57

Network News
New subscribers

61
63

Editorial
Cactus, plant of the desert and flag of the poor, is increasingly attracting scientists and
developers over the entire world. Just few years ago, no one would have imagined that
outstanding advanced research laboratories in Germany, Italy, France, USA, South Korea,
China, Mexico, and others would be investigating the potential uses of cacti as medicinal
plants. In fact, Cactus was largely ignored by the scientific community until the beginning
of 1980, when a multiplication of research and symposia occurred, resulting in a large
number of publications. This renewed interest is to be ascribed in part to the multifunctionality of cactus fruits, pads and flowers.
Also, in recent years a global trend is witnessed toward the use of natural phytochemicals
present in various natural resources, including fruit, vegetables, oilseeds, and herbs, as
antioxidants and functional foods. Natural antioxidants can be used in food industry, and
there is evidence that they may exert their antioxidant properties within the human body.
This issue of Cactusnet newsletter is dedicated to the coverage of medicinal uses of cactus
products. While most of people are familiar with the use of cactus for fruit and fodder
production few are aware of its potential usefulness as medicinal plant. Native Americans
and ancient medicine have realized its anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties, but
Opuntia spp. have hardly been considered for the development of health-promoting food,
most probably due to the little information available.
The main objective of this issue therefore is to fill up this knowledge gap and to keep
scientists, developers, and consumers abreast of recent advances made in the use of cactus
cladodes, fruits and flowers as neutraceutical and medicinal resources.
To confirm the importance given to this new area, a new research group is added to
strengthen the structure of the International Technical Cooperation Network on Cactus
(Cactusnet). Dr Monica Nazareno, Professor of organic chemistry at the University of
Santiago del Estero, Argentina and co-editor of this issue, has been recently appointed to
coordinate this working group.
Created under the initiative of FAO, the cactus network now is fifteen years old, and has
been attracting more and more people with increasing popularity due to the dedication and
continuous support of Dr. Enrique Arias of FAO. The recent Sixth International Congress
held during October 2007 in Brazil, has brought together more than 500 participants, with
34 invited papers and 234 other contributions, which testifies to the success and good
health of the network.
ICARDA serves the non-tropical dry areas where cacti play an important role as a drought
tolerant plant resource for fruit, fodder and land conservation. Therefore, ICARDA is paying
more and more importance to this crop, working closely with FAO to promote cactus in
different parts of the world.
The editors are especially grateful to FAO and ICARDA for their financial and technical
support, and express their thanks and recognition to all partners, with a special mention of
the many authors for their valuable contributions to this issue of Cactusnet newsletter.
The editors
Monica Nazareno and Ali Nefzaoui

Scientific and Technical Contributions

Review Of Medicinal Uses Of Cactus
A. Nefzaoui1, Monica Nazareno2, and M. El Mourid3
(1) ICARDA/NARP, General Coordinator of FAO-CACTUSNET. ICARDA North Africa Regional Program. 1, Rue
des Oliviers, El Menzah V, Tunis. Tunisia. A.nefzaoui@cgiar.org
(2) Professor of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Santiago del Estero, Argentina. manazar2004@yahoo.com
(3) Regional Coordinator of ICARDA North Africa Regional Program, 1, Rue des Oliviers, El Menzah V, Tunis.
Tunisia. M.elmourid@cgiar.org

Summary

pectins.

Cactus is a xerophytic plant and an emergent

crop, which evolved commercially during the
second half of the XX century. The plant
probably originated in Central Mexico, the
region presenting the widest germplasm
variability as well as the larger number of
uses.

It is also reported that the consumption of

young cladodes or nopalitos reduces
significantly obesity and blood glycaemia.

Cactus species have developed phenological,

physiological and a structural adaptation
favourable to their development in arid
environments, in which water is the main
factor limiting the development of most plant
species. Among these adaptations stand out
its asynchronous reproduction, and its CAM
metabolism, which combined with structural
adaptations such as succulence allow this
plant to continue the assimilation of carbon
dioxide during long periods of drought and in
this way reach acceptable productivity levels
even in years of severe drought.
Cactus cladodes, fruits, and flowers were
traditionally used as medicines in several
countries, and particularly in Latin America.
Recent scientific investigations showed that
cactus products may be efficiently used as a
source of foods additives, mainly fibre, red
dye and mucilages. Tablets, cookies and
other forms of fibre derived from cactus
cladodes are currently marketed in several
American countries. Opuntia ficus-indica
cladodes were directly administrated in tests
to hypercholesterolemic rats. It was found a
decrease of their blood plasma of cholesterol,
HDL, LDL and triglycerides. It was also noted
an inhibition of carragenan-induced oedema,
a protective action against ethanol-induced
ulcer, as well as other favourable effects.
Similar tests were carried out by employing,
instead of cladodes, mucilages and pectins
extracted from cladodes, it was demonstrated
that the above mentioned effects may be
attributed to mucilages, and not significantly

Infusion of cactus flowers petals prevents

prostates cancer.
The use of cactus products as cosmetics is
even more developed than medicinal
applications. The most world wild known red
dye or carmenic acid produced from cochineal
growing on cactus cladodes are recognized
by WHO as hypoallergenic dye thoroughly
used in agro-industries and for cosmetics as
lipsticks and powder. Shampoo, shower gels,
and other forms of cosmetics are
manufactured and marketed in several
European and American countries.

1. Introduction
As a CAM plant, Opuntia spp. are
characterized by a high water use efficiency of
410 mmol CO2 per mol H2O compared to
C3- and C4-plants with 1.01.5 mmol and 23
mmol CO2 per mol H2O, respectively. Through
succulence, the ability to store considerable
quantities of water, the plant may survive
despite harsh environmental conditions
(Nobel and De la Barrera, 2003).
Furthermore, and according to the same
author, Opuntia exhibits the highest
production rate of aboveground-growing
plants. Interestingly, the biomass production
was even found to increase upon otherwise
deleterious rise of atmospheric CO2
concentrations (Nobel et al., 2002), thus
counteracting the greenhouse effect.
Cactus was largely ignored by the scientific
world until the beginning of 1980, when there
was a multiplication of research and symposia,
resulting in a large number of publications.
This renewed interest is to be ascribed in part
to the multi-functionality of cactus fruits, pads

and flowers. Recent data has, in fact, revealed

the high content of some chemical
constituents, which can give added value to
cactus products. Additionally, some of the
constituents show promising characteristics in
terms of functionality.
In recent years there has been a global trend
toward the use of natural phytochemicals
present in natural resources, such as fruit,
vegetables,
oilseeds,
and
herbs,
as
antioxidants and functional foods. Natural
antioxidant can be used in the food industry,
and there is evidence that these substances
may exert their antioxidant effects within
human body. Cactus has a global distribution
and is an important nutrient and food source.
The growing demand for neutraceuticals is
paralleled by an increased effort in developing
natural products for the prevention or treatment
of human diseases. According to several
studies demonstrating both cactus fruit and
cladode yielding high values of important
nutrients, such as betalains, amino compounds
including taurine, minerals, vitamins, as well as
further antioxidants, the cactus pear (Opuntia
spp.) appears to be an excellent candidate for
the inclusion in food. Even though Native
Americans and ancient medicine have realized
its antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory function,
Opuntia spp. have hardly been considered in
the development of health-promoting food,
most probably due to the scattered information
available.
2. Functional compounds of cacti
Recent shift toward natural products as food,
with specific consumers preferences as low
contents in calories, fats, and cholesterol and
rich in fibres, minerals, vitamins, anti-oxidants
and absence of artificial colours. This trend has
led to the concept of functional foods which are
a source of nutrients, but also good for the
health. Opuntia species produce nutrients that
fit with this context (Carmen Saenz, 2006).
The great number of potentially active nutrients
and their multifunctional properties make
cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) fruits and cladodes
perfect candidates for the production of healthpromoting food and food supplements.
Although traditionally appreciated for its
pharmacological properties by the Native
Americans, cactus pear is still hardly
recognized because of insufficient scientific
information. However, recent studies on
Opuntia spp. have demonstrated cactus pear
fruit and vegetative cladodes to be excellent
candidates for the development of healthy
food.

Some constituents may be extracted and used

as additives in food preparation or in the
pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors. Possible
use of food colorants has been assessed.
Betalains are found only in 10 families of the
Caryophyllaleae. Betalains are nitrogenous
chromalcaloids widely used in food industry.
Pectins with enough galacturonic acid content
are abundant in the fruit and can be used as
food or cosmetic additive. Pectins in cactus
fruit have a very low degree of methoxylation,
suggesting that can be used ass gelling agent
for low caloric food.
Mucilages,
which
are
complex
polysaccharides,
mainly
composed
of
arabinose,
galactose,
rhamnose,
and
galacturonic acid (Lee et al., 1988) have a high
water holding capacity, and so they can serve
as thickening or emulsifying agents and form
viscous or gelatinous colloids.
Fibre, hydrocolloids (mucilages), pigments
(betaines, carotenoides), minerals (calcium,
phosphorus) are some of the functional
compounds found in cactus cladodes and
fruits.
The analyses of malic and citric acids but also
vitamin C may be helpful for nutritional and
sensorial evaluation of the respective Opuntia
sp. studied. Free and bound oxalic acids, but
also rare compounds such as phorbic and
piscidic acids could be valuable markers for
specific species and their respective
physiological stage. In addition, the presence
and quantity of alkaloids in Opuntia spp.
should be checked. In the light of recent
reviews, promoting the knowledge of phenolic
constituents in the everyday diet as well as
their impacts on human health in-depth
studies deserve special attention (Stintzing
and Carle, 2005)
Generally, cladodes are rich in pectin,
mucilage and minerals, whereas the fruits are
good sources of vitamins, amino acids and
betalains. While the seed endosperm was
reported
to
consist
of
arabinan-rich
polysaccharides (Meyer et al., 1980), the
principal seed coat component was D-xylan
(Habibi et al., 2002). In addition to lipids, seeds
have
been
reported
to
accumulate
proanthocyanidins (Nieto, 1987). The fruit skin
polysaccharide fraction has been subject to
thorough investigations (Habibi et al., 20022003-2004), whereas the pectin substances in
fruit pulp remain to be characterized. The
flowers predominantly accumulate betalains
and colorless phenolics (Salt et al., 1987).

Fibers
The healthy properties of fibres are well
established: control of obesity, diabetes, and
cholesterol (Sloan, 1994). There are two types
of fibres: water soluble and insoluble. Soluble
fibres include mucilage, gums, pectin, and
hemi-celluloses. Soluble fibres are associated
to the reduction of blood glucose and
cholesterol and stabilize intestinal food transit.
Insoluble fibres are composed mainly of
cellulose, lignin, and a large portion of hemicelluloses. They are known for their capacity to
retain water, favour ionic exchange, absorption
of bile acids, minerals, vitamins and other
interaction with microbes (Carmen Saenz,
2006).
Dried cladodes powder contains about 43 %
fibre, 28,5 % of which are insoluble. Some
commercial products based on cladodes
powder are already marketed, as Cactu fibra
and Nutra Sweet in Mexico. These products
are prepared with young cladodes (3-6
months), which have low content of insoluble
fibre.
This powder is also used to prepare several
foods, as biscuits, creams, and other types of
desserts (Saenz et al. 2002). Generally, about
18 % of cladodes powder is incorporated in
such products.

Polysaccharides and Mucilage

Mucilage is a complex polysaccharide
containing arabinose, galactose, xylose,
galacturonic acid, and rhamnose. Because of
its high ability to retain water, it is considered
as a hydrocolloid, and can be used as
thickener.
Habibi et al. (2004) investigated fruit skin
polysaccharides composition and find out they
are composed of galactose and arabionse with
6.3:3.3 ratio, and classify them as
arabinogalactane. Cactus mucilage may
replace other thickeners as carboxymethylcellulose (Sepulveda et al., 2003).
The aqueous ethanolic extract from the fresh
cladodes of Opuntia dillenii Haw. showed
potent radical scanvenging activity. Three new
compounds, opuntioside I, 4-ethoxyl-6hydroxymethyl-alpha-pyrone, and kaempferol
7-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-Dglucopyranoside, were isolated from the
extract (Qiu et al., 2002).

Pigments/dyes
WHO and EC regulations restrain the use of
artificial dyes, favouring therefore the use of

natural dyes. Cactus fruits contains betalains

(Sepulveda et al., 2003), which can be used in
agri-food. Cactus betalains contains two types
of
pigments:
betacyanins
(red)
and
betaxantines (yellow). These pigments were
used for yaourts (Idalsoaga, 2000) and orange
juice (Moreno et al., 2003) preparations.
Sixty one aromas have been found in cactus
fruit flesh of Opuntia ficus-indica (Flath and
Takahashi, 1978), most of them are alcohols.
The most important aromas contributors in
white, yellow and red Italian cultivars were
(E,Z)-2,6-nonadien-1-ol and 2-methyl-acid
methyl ester.

Anti-oxidants
Cactus fruits have a high anti-oxidant activity
conferred by the presence of vitamin C,
betacartenes, falvonides, and betalaines (Kuti,
2004; Galati et al., 2003). Fruits extract have
an antioxidant activity of 4.2-5.3 mol Trolox f1 for white and yellow variety, respectively.
This anti-oxidant activity is twice higher than
pears, apples, tomato, bananas, white grapes,
and similar to red grapes and grape fruit
(Butera, 2002). Significant amounts of ascorbic
acid are present in Opuntia ficus-indica,
ranging from 180 to 300 mg/kg. Cactus fruit is
higher in vitamin C than other common fruits,
such ass apple, pear, grape, and banana.
The most obvious feature of cactus pear fruits
and flowers are the yellow (betaxanthins) and
red
(betacyanins)
betalains,
nitrogencontaining vacuolar pigments that replace
anthocyanins in most plant families of the
Caryophyllales including the Cactaceae (Zryd,
2004). Their identification in cactus pear fruit
has been of renewed interest recently
(Stintizing et al., 2003). In addition to color, the
same pigments have shown antioxidant
properties being higher than for ascorbic acid
(Tesoriere et al., 2005).
Lee et al. (2000) investigate the anti-oxidant
activity of cactus cladodes and conclude that
this anti-oxidant property is due to many
compounds, particularly flavonoids (quercetin,
myricetin), and vitamins.
The presence of phenolics has been detected
in cactus pulp fruit (Tesoriere et al., 2005b;
Butera et al., 2002; Kuti, 2004). Kuti (1992) has
reported an antioxidative effect due to the
major flavonoids encountered in cactus fruits
(quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin).
There is clear evidence that these compounds
are more efficient antioxidants than vitamins,
since phenolic compounds are able to delay
prooxidative effects on proteins, DNA and
lipids by the generation of stable radicals

(Shahidi et al., 1992). Furthermore, Opuntia

ficus-indica polyphenolic compounds have
been shown to induce a hyperpolarization of
the plasma membrane and to raise the
intracellular pool of calcium in human Jurkat Tcell lines (Aires et al., 2004). Flavonol
derivatives detected in Opuntia ssp. have been
recently compiled (Stintizing and Carle, 2005).
When fruits are investigated, it must be taken
into account that higher phenolic contents are
expected in the peel, rather than the pulp.
Consequently, from a nutritional point of view
processing both peel and pulp appears to be
advantageous.
The fat soluble vitamin E or tocopherols, and
beta-carotene are found in the lipid fraction of
both the cactus fruit seed and pulp. The
vitamin E homologues isoforms gamma- and
delta-tocopherol are the main components in
seed and pulp oils, respectively, amounting to
about 80% of the total vitamin E content.
Similar to beta-carotene, it is predominant in
pulp lipids (Ramadan and Morsel, 2003).
In Mexico, where cactus pads or nopalitos are
commonly consumed as vegetable or cooked,
it was reported that the above mentioned
antioxidant are heat-resistant and remain
active even after harvest is adequate storage
is applied.

Lipids
Lipids are present in the peel, pulp, and seeds.
Peel contains an appreciable amount of
polyunsatured fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid,
alpha-tocopherol, sterols, beta-carotene and
vitamin K1 (Ramadan and Morsel, 2003a). The
main sterol is b-sitosterol. Among amino acids
present in the fruit, the highest is the
nutraceutical taurine, with an amount of 572
mg/L (Stintzing et al., 2001).

3. Medicinal uses of cactus

Traditionally,
cactus
pads
contributed
considerably to the human diet in many
countries, mainly in Latin American countries.
They still serve as therapeutic agents and in
folk medicine. Several cactus species, and
mainly Opuntia fuliginosa and Opuntia
streptacantha, have been used for the
treatment of gastritis, fatigue, dyspnoe, and
liver injury following alcohol abuse (Shapiro
and Gong, 2002). Traditionally, heated poltices
were applied to treat rheumatic disorders,
erythemas and chronic skin infections, but also
to improve digestion and enhance the general
detoxification processes (Munoz et al., 1995).
Recently, positive effects of cladodes on
hyperglycemia, acidosis, and arteriosclerosis

were reported (Hegwood, 1990). In Italy, a

review on folk veterinary medicine compiles
Opuntia ficus-indica as a plant species for
ethnoveterinary (Viegi et al., 2003). The Aztecs
used it for medicinal purposes as described in
the Aztec Herbal of 1552. They referred to it as
"nohpalli." Today the Mexicans still call the
cactus plant "nopal.
Parts of the prickly pear cactus have been
used in various ways throughout the world.
The Aztecs extracted the milky juice from the
plant and mixed it with honey and egg yolk to
provide an ointment to treat burns. The
Chinese dressed abscesses with the fleshy
pad of the plant. The Indians used the fruit for
food and also made syrup from it to treat
whooping cough and asthma. In Mexican
traditional medicine, prickly pear cactus (nopal)
is used for the treatment of diabetes and high
cholesterol. Today nopal is a commonly called
upon herbal agent for the treatment of Type 2
Diabetes by Mexican Americans as well as
American Indians. The blood sugar- lowering
action of nopal has been documented in a
number of studies.
Deep inside the African Kalahari desert, grows
an ugly and bitter cactus called the Hoodia
Gordonii. It thrives in extremely high
temperatures, and takes years to mature. The
San Bushmen of the Kalahari, one of the
world's oldest and most primitive tribes, had
been eating the Hoodia for thousands of years,
to stave off hunger during long hunting trips.
When South African scientists were routinely
testing it, they discovered the plant contained a
previously unknown molecule, which has since
been christened P 57. The license was sold to
a
Cambridgeshire
bio-pharmaceutical
company, Phytopharm, who in turn sold the
development and marketing rights to the giant
Pfizer Corporation.
In Italy, the flowers have served as a diuretic.
A tea made from the blossoms has treated
colitis. In Israel, researchers found that the
dried flowers may be used to battle an
enlarged prostate.

3.1. Antioxidant capacity

The antioxidative action is one of many
mechanisms by which fruit and vegetable
substances might exert their beneficial health
effects (Lee et al., 1999). The presence of
several
antioxidants
(ascorbic
acid,
carotenoids, reduced glutathione, cysteine,
taurine and flavonoids such as quercetin,
kaempferol and isorhamnetin) has been
detected in the fruits and vegetables of
different varieties of cactus prickly pear (Lee et

al., 1999; Tesoriere et al., 2005; Kuti, 1992;

Park et al., 1998). More recently, the
antioxidant properties of the most frequent
cactus
pear
betalains
(betanin
and
indicaxanthin) have been revealed (Gentile et
al., 2004; Tesoriere et al., 2003-2004-2005;
Stinzing et al., 2005).
Lee and Kim (2002) investigated Opuntia ficusindica var Saboten (OFS), widely spread
cactus in Southwestern Korea, and where is
used as a functional food. Antioxidant activity
of OFS is reported to correspond to well-known
antioxidants, such as catalase, -tocopherol,
and ascorbic acid in a cell-free reactive oxygen
species (ROS) generating system. It well
established that oxidative stress may play a
role in several diseases, such as heart
disease, degenerative neuronal disease, and
cancers. Many biochemical and clinical studies
suggest that natural and synthetic antioxidant
compounds are helpful in treating diseases
mediated by oxidative stresses. Lee and Kim
(2002) demonstrated that cactus cladodes
have excellent antioxidant activities.
On the other hand, numerous in vitro studies
have demonstrated the beneficial effect of
colorless phenolics and betalains (Stintizing et
al., 2005; Dok-Go et al., 2003). These are
generally attributed to the ability of antioxidants
to neutralize reactive oxygen species such as
singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide or H2O2, or
suppression of the xanthine/xanthineoxidase
system, all of which may induce oxidative
injury, i.e. lipid peroxidation.
Polyphenolics are antioxidants with well-known
cardioprotective, anticancer, antiviral and
antiallergenic properties (Carbo et al., 1999;
Tapiero et al., 2002).
Lee et al. (2002) demonstrated that
antioxidative
flavonoids,
quercetin,
(+)dihydroquercetin and quercetin 3-methyl ether,
isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. Saboten
have neuroprotective effects. They evaluated
their protective effects against oxidative
neuronal injuries induced in primary cultured
rat cortical cells and their antioxidant activities.
They found that quercetin inhibits H2O2- or
xanthine (X)/xanthine oxidase (XO)-induced
oxidative neuronal cell injury. Moreover,
quercetin 3-methyl ether potently and
dramatically inhibited H2O2 and X/XO-induced
neuronal injuries. All above mentioned three
principles markedly inhibited lipid peroxidation
and scavenged 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl
free radicals. These results indicate that
quercetin, (+)-dihydroquercetin, and quercetin
3-methyl ether are the active antioxidant
principles in the fruits and cladodes of Opuntia

ficus-indica var. Saboten. Furthermore,

quercetin 3-methyl ether appears to be the
most potent neuroprotectant of the three
flavonoids isolated from this plant.
Sicilian cultivars of prickly pear (Opuntia ficusindica) produce yellow, red, and white fruits,
due to the combination of two betalain
pigments, the purple-red betanin and the
yellow-orange indicaxanthin. The betalain
distribution in the three cultivars and the
antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts
from edible pulp were investigated by Buetra et
al. (2002). The yellow cultivar exhibited the
highest amount of betalains, followed by the
red and white ones. Indicaxanthin accounted
for about 99% of betalains in the white fruit,
while the ratio of betanin to indicaxanthin
varied from 1:8 (w:w) in the yellow fruit to 2:1
(w:w) in the red one. Polyphenol pigments
were negligible components only in the red
fruit. When measured as 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox)
equivalents per gram of pulp, the methanolic
fruit extracts showed a marked antioxidant
activity. Vitamin C did not account for more
than 40% of the measured activity. In addition,
the extracts dose-dependently inhibited the
organic hydroperoxide-stimulated red cell
membrane lipid oxidation, as well as the metaldependent and -independent low-density
lipoprotein oxidation. The extract from the
white fruit showed the highest protection in all
models of lipid oxidation. These findings
suggest that the above betalains contribute to
the antioxidant activity of prickly pear fruits.
It is appears that supplementation with cactus
pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit decreases
oxidative stress in healthy humans: a
comparative study with vitamin C. Short-term
supplementation with prickly pear cactus fruit
compared with vitamin C alone on total-body
oxidative status in healthy humans was
investigated by Butera et al. (2002). After
supplementation with cactus pear fruit,
malondialdehyde decreased by approximately
75%; GSH:GSSG shifted toward a higher
value; and LDL hydroperoxides were reduced
by almost one-half. Supplementation with
vitamin C did not significantly affect any marker
of oxidative stress. Authors concluded that
consumption of cactus fruit positively affects
the body's redox balance, decreases oxidative
damage to lipids, and improves antioxidant
status in healthy humans. Supplementation
with vitamin C at a comparable dosage
enhances overall antioxidant defence but does
not significantly affect body oxidative stress.
In the University of Messina, Italy, Galati and
collaborators (2005) investigated the protective

effects of cactus fruit (Opuntia ficus-indica)

juice against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The animals
were treated orally with the juice (3 mL/rat) 2 h
after administration of the hepatotoxic agent.
Preventive effects were studied by giving the
juice (3 mL/rat) for 9 consecutive days. On day
9 the rats received the hepatotoxic agent.
Morphological and biochemical evaluations
were carried out 24, 48 and 72 h after
induction of the hepatic damage. Data show
that O. ficus-indica fruit juice administration
exerts protective and curative effects against
the CCl4-induced degenerative process in rat
liver. Histology evaluation revealed a normal
hepatic parenchyma at 48 h; the injury was
fully restored after 72 h. Moreover, a significant
reduction in CCl4-induced increase of GOT and
GPT plasma levels is evident; these data are in
agreement with the functional improvement of
hepatocytes. Authors assumed that cactus fruit
juice contains many phenol compounds,
ascorbic acid, betalains, betacyanins, and a
flavonoid fraction, which consists mainly of
rutin
and
isorhamnetin
derivatives.
Hepatoprotection may be related to the
flavonoid fraction of the juice, but other
compounds, such as vitamin C and betalains
could,
synergistically,
counteract
many
degenerative processes by means of their
antioxidant activity.

3.2. Anti-inflammatory and

analgesic properties
Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes contain a
polysaccharide fraction that can retain water.
The cladodes are used in Sicilian folk medicine
as cicatrizant. Enza Maria Galati and
collaborators (2003) from the University of
Messina, Italy, tested a wound-healing topical
preparation containing 15% cladode extract. A
fast regeneration of the tissue was ascribed to
inflammation inhibition, stimulation of the
fibroblast migration with accelerated collagen
formation and faster angiogenesis. Evidently,
the Opuntia ficus-indica treatment accelerates
wound healing, probably by involving the
proliferation and migration of the keratinocytes
in the healing process.
In an earlier work, the same authors
demonstrated in 2000 the anti-inflammatory
activity of Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes, and
the correlation between the two phenomena is
possible. Also, the angiogenesis is an essential
process in wound healing (Brown et al., 1992),
and these activators could be a low-molecularweight component of the cladodes (Lee et al.,
1998)
as
monosaccharide
residues,
polyphenols or B-sitosterol, that is the

predominant sterol in cactacea (Salt et al.,

1987).
Numerous studies have evocated the
analgesic and anti-inflammatory actions of the
genus Opuntia by using either the fruit extract
from Opuntia dillenii , the lyophilized cladodes
(Galati et al., 2001), or the phytosterols from
fruit and stem extracts (Park et al., 1998). Park
et al. (2001) identified beta-sitosterol as the
active anti-inflammatory principle from the
stem extract. Gastric lesions in rat animal
studies were reduced both by stem and fruit
powders (Lee et al., 2001; 2002).
Reduction of acute inflammation by ethanolic
O. ficus-indica stem extracts was ascribed to a
lower leucocytes migration. In contrast to
nonsteroidal inflammation inhibitors, no
adverse effects were noted. Therefore,
cladode
extracts
were
proposed
for
inflammation treatment. In further experiments
with a methanolic extract from O. ficus-indica
cladodes, the fractions obtained after reextraction with hexane and ethyl acetate were
most efficient to accelerate the healing process
(Clark and Parfitt, 1980). A follow-up study
identified beta-sitosterol to be the active
principle.
An ethanolic extract of the cladodes (300600
mg/kg body weight) from O. ficus-indica var.
saboten showed a similar analgesic effect as
acetylsalicylic acid (200 mg/kg body weight)
without toxic effects in mice (LD50 > 2 g/kg
body weight) even at high dosages.
The ethanol extracts of Opuntia ficus-indica
fruits and inhibited the writhing syndrome
induced by acetic acid, indicating that they
contain analgesic effect (Park et al., 1998).
The oral administrations of these extracts
suppressed carrageenan-induced rat paw
edema and also showed potent inhibition in the
leukocyte migration of CMC-pouch model in
rats. Moreover, the extracts suppressed the
release of beta-glucuronidase, a lysosomal
enzyme in rat neutrophils. It was also noted
that the extracts showed the protective effect
on gastric mucosal layers. From these results it
is suggested that the cactus extracts contain
anti-inflammatory action having protective
effect against gastric lesions.

3.3. Antiulcerogenic effect and

healing properties
Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes are used in
traditional medicine of many countries for their
cicatrisant activity. The major components of
cladodes
are
carbohydrate-containing
polymers, which consist of a mixture of

mucilage and pectin.

In Sicily folk medicine Opuntia ficus-indica (L.)
Mill. cladodes are used for the treatment of
gastric ulcer. Galati et al. (2002) studied the
effect of administration of lyophilized cactus
cladodes on experimental ethanol-induced
ulcer in rat. The ultrastructural changes were
monitored
by
transmission
electronic
microscopy (TEM) confirming the protective
effect induced by administration of lyophilized
cladodes, and revealed a protective action
against ethanol-induced ulcer. This protective
effect is probably due to the mucilage. Indeed,
the major components of cladodes are
carbohydrate-containing
polymers,
which
consist of a mixture of mucilage and pectin.
The OFI cladodes administration gives rise to
cytoprotection phenomena by breaking up the
epithelial cells and stimulating an increase in
mucus production. When OFI cladodes are
administered as a preventive therapy, keep the
gastric mucosa under normal condition by
preventing mucus dissolution caused by
ethanol and favouring mucus production. An
increase of mucus production is also observed
during the course of the curative treatment.
The treatment with OFI cladodes provokes an
increase in the number of secretory cells.
Probably, the gastric fibroblasts are involved in
the antiulcer activity (Galati et al., 2002)
In another work, Galati et al. (2003)
investigated the cactus fruit juice contents of
ascorbic acid, total polyphenols, and
flavonoids. In the juice, ferulic acid was the
chief derivative of hydroxycinnamic acid and
the mean concentration of total phenolic
compounds was 746 microg/mL. The flavonoid
fraction, analyzed by high-performance liquid
chromatography-diode
array
detection,
consisted of rutin and isorhamnetin derivatives.
The juice showed antioxidant activity, probably
due to the phenolic compounds that are
effective radical scavengers. The preventive
administration of the juice inhibited the
ulcerogenic activity of ethanol in rat. Light
microscopy observations showed an increase
in mucus production and the restoration of the
normal mucosal architecture.
Additionally, Lee et al. (2001, 2002) postulated
an antiulcerogenic effect of the cladode or fruit
powder from O. ficus-indica var. saboten
Makino. Stomach lesions triggered by
hydrochloric acid/ethanol or hydrochloric
acid/acetylsalicylic acid were reduced, but no
anti-inflammatory effect could be proven. The
secretion rate of both gastric juice as well as
the pH value remained constant, which has
been confirmed by Galati et al. (2001).
However, the protective effect was ascribed to

the cladodes hydrocolloid acting as a buffer,

spreading out on the gastric mucosa and
increasing mucus production by enhancing the
number of secretory cells.

3.4. Hypoglycemic and

antidiabetic effects
The cactus cladodes have been used
traditionally to treat diabetes in Mexico
(Dominguez Lopez, 1995). Nowadays, Opuntia
spp. is amongst the majority of products
recommended by Italian herbalists that may be
efficacious in reducing glycemia (Cicero et al.,
2004). Human studies in the 80es
demonstrated glucose and insulin levels in
healthy fasting subjects were stable when
eating cladodes. The positive contribution to
overall health in diabetes mellitus type II (noninsulin-dependent diabetes) patients was
assumed to be due to reduced postprandial
sugar absorption. Following a glucose
challenge test, the increase in insulin and
glucose were retarded. Also, the glucose and
insulin plasma levels were reduced. After 10
days of cladode ingestion prior to meals, a
significant reduction of the serum glucose level
was noticed [Meckes-Lazyoa and Roman
Ramos, 1986). Since these effects did not
depend on glucagon, cortisone, and human
growth hormone levels, which are closely
interrelated with glucose metabolism, a gastric
enterohormone was held responsible for the
hypoglycemic effect (Munoz de Chavez, 1995).
To assess the hypoglycemic effect of the
Opuntia streptacantha Lemaire cladodes, FratiMunari et al. (1988) conducted an experiment
with patients with non-insulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus. After the intake of O.
streptacantha Lem., serum glucose and serum
insulin levels decreased significantly. Authors
did not identify the mechanism responsible of
this action, but suggest increased insulin
sensitivity. Wolfram et al. (2002) reached quite
similar conclusions. Indeed, they demonstrate
that cladodes have an anti-hyperglycemic
effect that was proposed as alternative to oral
antidiabetics, thereby preventing insulin
resistance. The hypoglycaemic effect seemed
to be related to improved sensibility of the
pancreatic cells with a concomitant improved
glucose usage (Wolfram et al., 2002). These
effects deserve special attention since the
populations of developed countries are
increasingly suffering from obesity and
diabetes symptoms urgently requiring effective
countermeasures.
The efficiency of cactus cladodes in lowering
blood sugar was observed in both fried and

raw materials.
Interspecific variations of the plant material,
harvest time, and application modes (oral,
intravenous) should be considered.
Some studies have demonstrated the
hypoglycemic activity of the prickly pear cactus
extract on non-diabetics and diabetic-induced
rats or diabetic humans (Enigbokan et al.,
1996). In a study on rats, the combination of
insulin and purified extract of cactus (Opuntia
fuliginosa Griffiths) was found to reduce blood
glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels to
normal (Enigbokan et al., 1996). In this study,
the oral dose of extract (1 mg/kg body weight
per day) necessary to control diabetes contrast
with the high quantities of insulin required for
an equivalent hypoglycemic effect. A recent
study has shown that a supplementation of
rats diets with cactus seed oil (25 mg/kg)
decreases the serum glucose concentration,
which is associated with a glycogen formation
in the liver and skeletal muscle (Laurenz et al.,
2003). These observations were explained by
a potential induction of insulin secretion,
converting glucose to glycogen.
Wolfram and collaborators (2003) from the
University of Vienna, Austria, suspected a
soluble fibre in lowering cholesterol levels in
both animals and man with hyperlipidemia as
well as being able to slow carbohydrate
absorption and hence reduce the postprandial
rise in blood glucose and serum insulin in
patients with type-II diabetes. The aim of their
work was to investigate the effect of cactus
consumption on glucose and lipid metabolism.
Cactus consumption leads to a decrease of
total cholesterol (12%), low-density lipoproteincholesterol (15%), apolipoprotein B (9%),
triglycerides (12%), fibrinogen (11%), blood
glucose (11%), insulin (11%) and uric acid
(10%), while body weight, high-density
lipoprotein-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, and
lipoprotein(a) remained unchanged. Authors
conclude that the hypocholesterolemic action
of cactus may be partly explained by the fibre
(pectin) content, but the hypoglycaemic actions
(improvement of insulin sensitivity) in the nonobese, non-diabetic need further investigation
to get more insights on the potential advantage
of treating the metabolic syndrome.
An amazing effect of cacti in controlling
appetite has been recently reported in several
media and it may change the life of people
suffering from obesity. It is perceived as a new
miracle diet ingredient. Imagine an organic pill
that kills the appetite and attacks obesity. It
has no known side-effects, and contains a
molecule that fools your brain into believing

you are full. This pill is already sold through

internet and it is manufactured from a cactus
ugly plant with a bitter taste named Hoodia
gordonii. This unattractive plant which sprouts
about 10 tentacles, and is the size of a long
cucumber is growing in the Kalahai desert.
Each tentacle is covered in spikes which need
to be carefully peeled. Inside is a slightly
unpleasant-tasting, fleshy plant. The plant is
said to have a feel-good almost aphrodisiac
quality. The San bushmen have eaten this
plant for years, which help to suffer hunger and
starvation when hunting.
Trials were conducted on animals and human.
When offered Hoodia plant, rats, a species that
will eat literally anything, stopped eating
completely. Trials on human with two groups,
one half were given Hoodia, and the other half
placebo. Fifteen days later, the Hoodia group
had reduced their calorie intake by 1000 a day.
."What the Hoodia seems to contain is a
molecule that is about 10,000 times as active
as glucose. "It goes to the mid-brain and
actually makes those nerve cells fire as if you
were full. But you have not eaten. Nor do you
want to. When South African scientists were
routinely testing the plant, they discover that it
contains unknown molecule, which has since
been named P57. The licence was sold to a
Cambridgeshire bio-pharmaceutical company,
Phytopharm, who in turn sold the development
and marketing rights to the giant Pfizer
Corporation.

3.5. Anti-hyperlipidemic and

cholesterol lowering effect
Experimental evidence suggests that cactus
cladodes reduces cholesterol levels in human
blood and modify low density lipoprotein (LDL)
composition (Fernandez et al., 1992; Frati,
1992). Galati et al. (2003) have found that the
cholesterol, LDL and triglyceride plasma
levels of rats were strongly reduced after 30
days of a daily administration (1 g/kg) of
lyophilized cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica L.
Mill. This effect is generally attributed to the
high fiber content of the cladodes, although
other active ingredients (such as betacarotenes, vitamin E and beta-sitosterol) may
be involved. Oil from cactus seeds fed to rats
(25 g/kg) decreases plasma total cholesterol
and LDL (VLDL) cholesterol with no effect on
HDL-cholesterol concentrations ( Ennouri et
al., 2005).
The use of cactus may also lower blood lipid
levels. In a recent study, the daily
consumption of 250 grams of cooked cactus
cladodes lowered total cholesterol and LDL

10

cholesterol levels (but not HDL cholesterol or

triglyceride levels) in 15 young patients with
familial hypercholesterolemia. Although there
are many species of Opuntia, few varieties
have been positively shown to be effective in
normalizing blood sugar or blood lipid levels
(Feugang, 2006).
The anti-hyperlipidemic effect after cladode
ingestion was investigated only in many
studies (i.e. Wolfram et al., 2002-2003;
Budinski). In general, a prolonged period of
satiety was registered after cladode
consumption. In a series of studies with
Guinea pigs, Fernandez et al. (1990, 1994)
demonstrated that the reduction of blood lipids
triggered by isolated pectin from Opuntia was
due to the enhanced binding of bile acid. It
was concluded that through reduced bile
absorption in the colon the enterohepatic
circle was disrupted (Fernandez et al., 1990).
In a follow-up study, the same authors
presented evidence that the low-density
lipoprotein (LDL)-catabolism was considered
to be more important than the modulation and
de novo synthesis in the liver. The same
pectic-like substances were held responsible
for decreased lipid absorption, lower blood
lipid levels, and finally weight reduction.
In a recent study it was shown that a daily
consumption of 250 g of prickly pear pulp
reduced the risk of thrombosis in patients
suffering from hyperlipidemia and diabetes
(Wolfram et al., 2003). Wolfram et al. (2002)
reported a reduction of total cholesterol, LDL,
apolipoprotein levels, triglycerides, fibrinogen,
blood glucose, insulin and urate, while body
weight, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)cholesterol,
apolipoprotein
A-1
and
lipoproteinA levels were found to remain
unchanged. The anti-hyperlipidemic effects
were ascribed to the pulp pectin, which both
reduced lipid absorption and increased fecal
sterol
excretion,
thus
disrupting
the
enterohepatic circle.

3.6. Diuretic effect

An
ethanolic
extract
from
Opuntia
megacantha was reported to decrease blood
glucose but also affect kidney function in rats
(Bwititi et al., 2000). While sodium excretion
was enhanced, potassium levels in urine
decreased. In contrast, sodium, calcium, and
magnesium levels in the plasma dropped, but
phosphate,
creatinine,
and
urea
concentrations increased (Bwititi et al., 2000).
Both observations were related to the
hormonal regulatory mechanisms of the
kidney. In rats, uric acid excretion was
enhanced and lower uric acid levels were

detected in the serum after administration of

an Opuntia megacantha extract. These results
show cactus potential for gout treatment as
claimed by Bwititi et al. (1997). In this context,
oxalic acid needs to be taken into
consideration since calcium availability was
found to be decreased due to sequestration
by oxalic acid and high oxalic acid contents
resulted in an enhanced urinary calcium
oxalate excretion (Nerd et al., 1997).
After Opuntia extract ingestion, the water
intake rose and the urine volume was
increased (Bwititi et al., 1997). Galati et al.
(2002) investigated the diuretic effect of a 15%
extract from flowers, fruits, and peeled
cladodes
from
Opuntia
ficus-indica,
respectively. The latter showed the highest
diuretic effect while urea levels in blood and
urine remained unchanged. The diuretic effect
was chiefly ascribed to the high potassium
content of Opuntia cladodes amounting to 548
mg/kg.

3.7. Anti-cancer effect

It has been noted that Native Americans have
a lower cancer rate when compared to white
and African Americans (Cancer statistics,
2004). Both cactus fruits and cladodes which
contain multiple antioxidants have been used
as a dietary supplement for centuries by Native
Americans.
The goal of cancer prevention is to delay or
block the processes of initiation and
progression from pre-cancerous cells into
cancer. Cancer chemoprevention, which
targets normal and high risk populations,
involves the use of drugs or other chemical
agents to inhibit, delay, or reverse cancer
development (Kelloff et al., 1999).
Medical benefits from plant forms have been
recognized for centuries. Herbs have been
used in Chinese medicine for thousands of
years to cure diseases and heal wounds.
Recently, it has been found that components in
green tea and grape seeds have anticancer
effects (Kim et al., 2004). Also, as a rule, herbs
and natural products lack much of the toxicity
that is present in synthetic chemicals, thus,
enhancing their appeal for long term preventive
strategies.
Although hundreds of agents have been
developed in the United States during the past
decade, only a few new drugs have actually
been approved (Kelloff et al., 2000). The
development of chemopreventive agents is
slow and inefficient. More effective and less
toxic agents, including natural products, are
needed if we are to reach the goal of cancer

11

prevention, both primary and secondary.

The development of effective and safe agents
for prevention and treatment of cancer remains
slow, inefficient, and costly. The key to
effective chemoprevention is the identification
of a chemopreventive agent(s) that can
effectively inhibit cancer development without
toxic side effects. In an Italian 4-HPR trial,
retinoids showed the preventive effect on
ovarian cancer only during the period while the
drug was taken. After cessation of treatment,
the incidence of ovarian cancer increased to
the level that was observed in the untreated
control group (Veronesi, 1999). Therefore,
chemopreventive agents may need to be used
for a long period of time to be effective. As a
result, identification of agents with little or no
toxicity becomes important.
Recent studies suggests that the cactus fruit
extract (i) inhibits the proliferation of cervical,
ovarian and bladder cancer cell lines in vitro,
and (ii) suppresses tumor growth in the nude
mice ovarian cancer model in vivo (Zou et al.,
2005). The intra-peritoneal administration of
cactus extract solution into mice did not affect
the animal body weight, which indicated that
cactus did not have a significant toxic effect in
animals. More importantly, tumor growth
inhibition was comparable to the synthetic
retinoid N-(4-hydroxyphernyl) retinamide (4HPR), which is currently used as a
chemopreventive agent in ovarian cancer
chemoprevention.
The mechanism of action as well as the
component(s) by which cactus pear extract
exerts these effects is not yet elucidated.
However, an extrinsic effect through an
activation of membrane death receptors and
intrinsic actions via the mitochondria, playing a
pivotal role by releasing a number of molecules
favorable to the induction of apoptosis, are
suspected. Further investigations are needed
to identify active components and the
respective underlying mechanisms
Zou et al. (2005) showed that growth inhibition
of cultured-cancer cells was associated with an
increase in apoptotic cells and the cell cycle
arrest at the G1-phase. Moreover, the inducedgrowth inhibition seems dependent on the P53
pathway, which is the major tumor suppressor.
Annexin IV was increased and the VEGF
decreased in the tumor tissue obtained from
animals having received the cactus solution.
The same authors confirm that cactus fruit
extract inhibited growth of different cancer cells
in vitro and in vivo. Cactus products inhibited
cancer cell growth with concentrations as low
as 5%; cell cycle was also affected at this

concentration with an increase in G1 phase.

However, apoptosis was observed at a higher
concentration of 10% and 25%. They have
also
compared
cactus
with
the
chemopreventive agent 4-HPR in nude mice.
Both cactus and 4-HPR inhibited ovarian
cancer
growth.
The
anti-carcinogenic
properties of natural and synthetic retinoids
have been suggested to be due, in part, to the
antioxidant effect, increased consumption of
fruit and vegetables is associated with
prevention of various human diseases, and the
oxidative damage is an important etiologic risk
factor for many diseases, including cancer and
heart disease.
Carcinogenesis may be viewed as a process of
progressive disorganization. This process is
characterized by the accumulation of genotypic
changes and corresponding tissue and cellular
abnormalities including loss of proliferation and
apoptosis controls. A dietary agent that can
increase anti-proliferation pathways and
change cell cycle in cancer cells without
toxicity would be a potential agent for
chemoprevention. Although the mechanism for
cactus pear extract in cancer prevention is
unclear, the study conducted by Zou et al.
(2005) shows that cactus fruit extracts alter the
expression of certain genes related to cell
growth and apoptosis. Quercetin is one of the
components of cactus pear extracts. Results of
Zou et al. (2005) and Hansen et al. (1997)
suggest quercetin might be one of the active
compounds
responsible
for
the
anticarcinogenetic and apoptosis-induction effects
of cactus pear extracts. In our study, cactus
pear extracts decreased VEGF expression,
suggesting that cactus pear extracts might
have inhibitory effects on angiogenesis, an
important factor contributing to tumor growth
and metastasis.
It can be concluded as stated by Zou et al.
(2005) that cactus pear extracts could be a
candidate in cancer prevention for both normal
and high-risk populations and prevention of
recurrence in patients with previous cancers.
This product holds promise for long-term use
because of the safety of food-derived products
and the fact that they are not perceived as a
"chemical", and that mechanisms involved
need to be further investigated.

3.8. Antiviral effect

A cladode extract from Opuntia streptacantha
Lem. was reported to exhibit antiviral
properties towards DNA viruses, such as
herpes, and RNA viruses, such as influenza
type A and human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV)- 1. The active principle was located in

12

the outer noncuticular tissue and ascribed to a

protein with unknown mechanisms of action
(Ahmad et al., 1996). Both the replication of
DNA and RNA viruses was inhibited while the
extract from the parenchyma acted both
preventively and post-infectionary. In security
tests on mice, horses (27 g/day over the period
of 24 weeks) and finally humans (6 g/day for
1 month or 3 g/d over 6 months), all dosages
were well tolerated (Ahmad et al., 1996).
An interesting study by Ahmad et al.
(1996) demonstrated that administration of a
cactus stem extract (Opuntia streptacantha) to
mice, horses, and humans inhibits intracellular
replication of a number of DNA- and RNAviruses such as Herpes simplex virus Type 2,
Equine herpes virus, pseudorabies virus,
influenza virus, respiratory syncitial disease
virus and HIV-1. An inactivation of extracellular viruses was also reported by the same
authors. However, the active inhibitory
component(s) of the cactus extract used in this
study was not investigated, and as of yet, no
further study dealt with this specific topic.

3.9. Other positive health effects

Cactus fruits, cladodes or flower infusions have
been traditionally used as folk medicine to treat
other ailments such as ulcers, allergies, fatigue
and rheumatism, to alleviate alcoholic
hangover, and as an antiuric and diuretic
agent. Amongst the flavonoids extracted from
either the cactus stem or fruit, quercetin 3methyl appears to be the most potent
neuroprotector (Dok-Go et al., 2003). The
cactus flower extract was able to exert an
effect on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
through the inhibition of aromatase and 5a
reductase activities, both of which are involved
in androgen aromatization and testosterone
reduction (Jonas et al., 1998). The
investigation conducted by Jonas et al. (1998)
evaluated the ability of cactus flower extracts
to exert an effect on BPH through possible
inhibition of such processes as lipid
peroxidation, androgen aromatization and
testosterone reduction. Cactus flower extracts
indeed inhibited aromatase and 5alpha
reductase activity in cultured foreskin
fibroblasts, and also in human placental and
prostatic homogenates. The inhibitory activity
in both instances was associated with the
dichloromethane
or
ethanol
(methanol)
extracts, while a marked antioxidative activity
was associated with the aqueous extract. The
finding that cactus flower extracts interfere
concurrently in vitro with aromatase and
reductase activity as well as with free radical
processes suggests that these substances

may prove beneficial in BPH treatment.

Bhattacharya (2004) reported that cactus
extract offers hangover help. The purpose was
not to eliminate the symptoms of the alcohol
hangover so people could drink with impunity.
The only known cure for the alcohol hangover
is to not drink. Scientists interest was to
discover what is causing the alcohol hangover,
and to investigate what harms may be
associated with the syndrome. Hangovers, or
veisalgia as the condition is called medically,
carry
huge
economic
and
health
consequences. But despite this, little is known
about its mechanism. It has been associated
with a heightened inflammatory response by
the body to alcohol impurities called congeners
and some preservatives. Extract from the skin
of Opuntia ficus-indica fruit had previously
been shown to dampen inflammatory
response. The overall assessment of hangover
severity, based on nine symptoms, was
reduced by nearly a fifth, but this result was not
statistically significant. The researchers also
measured levels of a protein produced by the
liver, called C-reactive protein, which is thought
to be involved in the inflammation process. The
higher the levels, the worse the hangover, they
found. This is the first study to show this, the
team believes. Levels of this protein were also
40 per cent higher in the people who took
placebo pills compared with those who took
the Opuntia ficus-indica. The researchers
therefore believe that Opuntia ficus-indica
eases hangovers by soothing the inflammatory
response to alcohol. A capsule is already
marketed now days and could help for
hangovers.
Recent work (Lee et al., 2006) showed that
Opuntia
ficus-indica
may
have
a
neuroprpotective activity. Indeed, activated
microglia by neuronal injury or inflammatory
stimulation overproduce nitric oxide (NO) by
inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and
reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as
superoxide
anion,
resulting
in
neurodegenerative
diseases.
The
toxic
peroxynitrite (ONOO-), the reaction product of
NO and superoxide anion further contributes to
oxidative neurotoxicity. A butanol fraction
obtained from 50% ethanol extracts of Opuntia
ficus-indica var. Saboten (Cactaceae) stem
and its hydrolysis product inhibited the
production of NO in LPS-activated microglia in
a dose dependent manner (IC50 15.9, 4.2
g/ml, respectively). They also suppressed the
expression of protein and mRNA of iNOS in
LPS-activated microglial cells at higher than 30
g/ml as observed by western blot analysis
and RT-PCR experiment. Moreover, they

13

showed strong activity of peroxynitrite

scavenging in a cell free bioassay system.
These results imply that Opuntia ficus-indica
may have neuroprotective activity through the
inhibition of NO production by activated
microglial cells and peroxynitrite scavenging
activity.

4. Conclusions
Not only the biofunctional properties but also
the assumed roles of cladode polysaccharides
in the medicinal sector are interesting such as
cholesterol reduction and its preventive action
in diabetes and adipositas therapies. Since the
hydrocolloid fraction is also rich in proteins,
further research should be conducted whether
the alleged positive effects are due to the
pectic substances or rather to the protein
fraction. Furthermore, it should be investigated
whether these proteins are acting as heatshock and anti-freeze proteins [213220] in the
cactus tissue. Whether the same proteins
acting as repair molecules in plants could be
used for pharmaceutical purposes merits
further consideration. Special attention should
also be given to the oligosaccharide fraction
that has not been characterized so far.
Immunomodulatory properties have been
postulated for glucans from roots of Periandra
mediterranea (Vell.) Taub. and glucomannans
from Aloe sp. According to recent publication,
small oligosaccharides with a polymerization
degree of 6 and above with a tendency to form
helical structures are potent immune
modulators.
In summary, the constituents of Opuntia
cladodes are only partly known and often not
quantitatively determined. Investigations were
mostly performed 20 years ago and need to be
validated
with
up-to-date
methods.
Furthermore, data stem from all kinds of
different Opuntia spp. and it is open to
question whether the botanical classification
has properly been assessed in each case.
Beside a sound systematic classification, the
background of cladode physiology needs to be
considered. Based on additional data, a
reliable
nutritional
evaluation
can
be
performed. The technofunctional properties of
the respective extracts can be efficiently
exploited for manifold food, cosmetic and
medicinal applications. Analogies to the
multiple uses of Aloe sp. are obvious. Whether
isolated substances or rather a concerted
action of several components in the complex
plant matrix are responsible for the big variety
of biological activities remains unknown, let
alone the underlying mechanisms of the
traditional curative treatments being still little

under-stood.
From the presented data, it appears that
Opuntia spp. has been subject to intensive
exploitation due to its great compositional
diversity. Nowadays, this hidden knowledge
needs to be discovered and re-evaluated.
Sophisticated analytical approaches and
innovative processing technologies will open
new avenues to further promote the use of
cactus pear stems, fruits and flowers in food,
medicine, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical
industries. An increasing demand would help
encourage farmers to increase their acreage
and thus also help to counterbalance erosion
and increasing atmospheric CO2 levels.
Although much research still needs to be done,
concerted actions of taxonomists, plant
breeders, agriculturists, food technologists,
nutritionists and pharmacologists will help
discover and understand the big potential of
the Opuntia cactus. The exact botanical
classification of the respective Opuntia spp.
under investigation and the growing location
and time of harvest are prerequisites for
analytical and pharmacological studies. The
exact plant parts used in the extraction and
processing conditions need to be accurately
documented to allow proper data evaluation.

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17

Antioxidant Properties Of Cactus Products

Mnica A. Nazareno1 and Evangelina Gonzlez2
(1) Faculty of Agronomy and Agroindustries. (2) Faculty of Forestal Sciences.
Nacional University of Santiago del Estero. Av. Belgrano (S) 1912. Santiago del Estero. Argentina.
TE: 0385-4509528. E-mail: nazareno@unse.edu.ar

Abstract
Numerous investigations relate free radicals
with the origin of serious diseases. A diet rich
in fruits and vegetables is associated to lower
incidences of cancer and heart illness. Such
beneficial properties of natural foods have
been assigned not only to their vitamin content
but also to the presence of antioxidants,
substances capable to scavenge free radicals.
Cactus fruits have been reported as excellent
sources of antioxidants. Several studies reveal
that the antioxidant capacity is due to its
vitamin C content as well as to the presence of
polyphenols and water-soluble pigments
named betalains. Fruits of cacti present
moderate free radical scavenging ability, and
values are similar to those of other season
fruits. When cactus fruits were minimally
processed or stored under refrigerated
conditions, no important decreases in TEAC
values were found neither significant vitamin
losses were detected. Extracts obtained from
cactus pear fruits where also used as additives
to prevent oxidation of fish oil and its
emulsions showing good thermal stability. In
vivo assays have demonstrated that cactus
fruit consumption improve the oxidative status
of healthy individuals. Betalains present in
cactus pear fruits have been reported to
increase the resistance to human LDL
oxidation. In addition, the regular intake of O.
robusta has been reported to reduce oxidative
injury in patients with hypercholesterolemia.
For these reasons, cactus fruits are excellent
sources of bioactive substances and so, it is
highly recommendable to incorporate them to a
normal diet as fresh fruits. Besides, they are
potentially utilizable in the elaboration of high
added value products such as cosmetics,
nutraceutics or dietary supplements.

increasing tremendously these days. These

substances present the ability to scavenge free
radicals or other non radical oxidant species
delaying or retarding the oxidative damage
produce by them. Numerous investigations
indicate that free radicals are involved in
oxidation processes resulting in cell aging and
the origin of serious pathologies such as
cancer, heart diseases, degenerative illness of
the nervous system and malaria (Halliwell and
Gutteridge, 1992; Trush and Kensler, 1991).
Cigarette smoke, pollutants, organic solvents,
anesthetic and pesticides are some important
sources of free radicals (Halliwell and
Gutteridge, 1989). They are also formed by
exposure to sunlight, X-rays and ozone.
Actually, free radicals are no intrinsically
harmful. In fact, they are produced in the
organism in moderate amounts as a
mechanism of defense against bacteria and
virus. Once they complete their duty, they are
easily neutralized by the organism itself.
Optimum health state depends mainly on such
balance. When the production of oxidant
species exceeds the body's natural antioxidant
action, oxidative stress occurs causing
damage to cellular biomolecules like nucleic
acid, enzymes, lipids, carbohydrates and,
consequently, may affect immune functions
resulting in a variety of diseases (Ames et al.,
1993).
Oxidative stress is one of the major factors
responsible for DNA damages resulting in
mutagenic changes due to harmful effects of
reactive oxygen species (Zhao et al., 2005).
Diverse defense mechanisms take place in the
body towards the attack of such deleterious
species that involve enzymes, vitamins and
other natural substances that avoid or retard
oxidative damage of cell constituents (Yu,
1994).

Introduction
The

interest

on

natural

antioxidants

is

18

OXIDATIVE STRESS

Figure 1. Oxidative stress

Several reports indicate that a diet rich in fruits

and vegetables are related to lower incidences
of heart conditions and some types of cancer
suggesting that this kind of diet has positive
effects on health (Bazzano et al., 2002). These
beneficial effects have been associated to the
action of some antioxidant components
present in that natural food and not only to
their vitamin content (Terry et al., 2002, Hertog
et al., 1995).
Nowadays, discovery of new compounds
obtained from natural sources with high
antioxidant activity is a constant challenge for
researchers. There are many groups of
compounds such as carotenoids, betalains,
flavonoids and other phenolic compounds
occurring in nature with these properties. Many
of them are derived from plants and widely
spread in food so they are incorporated
frequently as part of a diet. In the search for
health promoting substances, the assessment
of a relative activity scale is necessary.
However, antioxidants present different
behaviour depending on the nature of the
oxidative species since different mechanisms
of action take place for their deactivation or
scavenging.
A large series of methods has been proposed
to evaluate in vitro the intrinsic activity of the
antioxidants towards different reactive species
formed in chemical and biological model

systems. Besides, health protective and

disease-preventive
effects
of
natural
substances, in pure form or as components of
food, have also been measured in vivo.

In vitro measurements
Numerous
methodologies
have
been
developed to determine the antioxidant
capacity of synthetic and natural pure
compounds (Schlesier et al., 2002) extracts
made from fruits, herbs and vegetables as well
as drinks like wine, tea and juices (Pellegrini et
al., 2000). Some of them determine specifically
the free radical scavenging capacity or
antiradical ability of the antioxidants by
measuring radical consumption by effect of the
addition of them. One of the most frequently
chosen techniques by its simplicity is the
evaluation of synthetic radical disappearance
as the 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycrilhydrazyl radical
(DPPH)
or
the
2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation
or ABTS+.. It measures the ability of pure
substances or crude extracts for trapping free
radicals by donating hydrogen atoms or
electrons producing, as a consequence, the
bleaching of the coloured radical solution and
the formation of less reactive species from the
antioxidant (Brand-Williams et al., 1995). The
reaction
is
monitored
by
UV-Visible
Spectrophotometry measuring the decrease in

19

absorbance
concentration.

associated

to

radical

Other methodologies determine the capacity of

natural extracts to retard the oxidation of a
chemical
system
by
monitoring
the
consumption of oxidizable species or the
formation of its oxidation products. A frequently
used
assay
for
antioxidant
capacity
determination of fruits, vegetables and other
foods is the evaluation of the ability of their
extracts to trap peroxyl radical and therefore,
inhibit unsaturated lipid oxidation named lipid
peroxidation (Cao et al., 1993; Chaillou and
Nazareno, 2006).
All of these techniques are in vitro
determinations and they represent indirect
measurements of the real action that a
substance can exert in the body to prevent
diseases causes by free radicals. This is a very
controversial subject, however, scientific
community agrees, in general, that there is a
relation between the consumption of
antioxidants, especially those with high
antiradical activity and the beneficial effect in
health previously mentioned.
As it was shown, numerous different
techniques are proposed to measure the
antiradical ability of a substance, thus, an
impressive diversity of forms of expression of
this activity also exists in literature (Prez et
al., 2000). This variety makes sometimes
difficult the comparison between results
expressed with different reference compound
or obtained from diverse experimental designs.
One of the several forms of expression of the
results obtained from free radical scavenging
techniques is the percentage of Antiradical
Activity (AAR %) that considers the fraction of
radical consumed by a given amount of
sample. In the case of fruits and their juices
where vitamin C is one of the major active
substances, other option to display the results
easily comparable and meaningful, is the
Vitamin C Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity
(VCEAC) which represents the amount of
ascorbic acid that present the same capacity of
the total extract (Kim et al., 2002). Other very
commonly used expression is Trolox
Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) which
compares the ability of a substance or extract
to donate a hydrogen atom or an electron
compared with Trolox, a hydro-soluble
synthetic derivative of tocopherol. TEAC assay
is based on the scavenging ability of
antioxidants to the long-life radical anion
ABTS.+. A common parameter to display the
antioxidant activity is the Oxygen Radical
Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) where inhibition

grade as well as oxidation reaction lag time are

combined in the same value. ORAC measures
antioxidant inhibition of peroxyl radical induced
oxidations and, thus, it shows a classical
radical chain breaking antioxidant activity by H
atom transfer. In the basic assay, a peroxyl
radical reacts with a fluorescent probe to form
a non fluorescent product, which can be
quantified easily by monitoring the residual
fluorescence of the system. ORAC values are
usually reported as Trolox equivalents.

Cactus Fruits as antioxidant

sources
Many cactus species produce edible fruits,
often consumed as fresh fruits as well as dried
food or in processed products as marmalades,
jams, ice-creams, juices or syrup. Cactus
fruits have been reported as excellent sources
of bioactive substances such as vitamins and
antioxidants. One of the more valuable
contributions of cactus fresh fruits to a diet is
their vitamin C content. Besides, they have
other
powerful
antioxidants
such
as
polyphenols and betalains. The last ones are
also responsible for the beautiful characteristic
colors of the fruits. Betalains are natural hydrosoluble pigments. Considering their chemical
structures, betalains are present in two
different groups, betaxanthins, yellow and
orange colored substances, and betacyanins,
red to purple colored substances (Galati et al.,
2003).
Most known examples of these two families in
cactus pear fruits are indicaxanthin for the
former and betanin for the latter. Betanin is
famous for being also the typical colour of red
beet.
Concerning to flavonoids, many types of them
have been reported in Opuntia sp. and an
important role has been proposed for their
presence as the main responsible of the
antioxidant power of its extracts (Lee and Lim,
2000).
Their
chemical
structure
and
concentration are very variable and depend on
the variety, ripening stages and the kind of
tissue of the plants (Wallace, 1986) 3-Oglycosilated
flavonols,
dihydroflavonols,
flavonones and flavanols have been found in
Cactaceae plants and fruits (Kuti, 2000).
Galati et al., 2003, analized Opuntia ficus
indica (L.) Mill. juices (95% yellow and 5% red
cultivars) and they identified the presence of
major flavonoids, isorhamnetin triglycoside,
rutin and kaempferol, as the main watersoluble constituents. Total flavonoid content
corresponds to 652.5 g/mL and ascorbic acid
concentration is 26.9 mg/ 100 mL of juice.

20

Antiradical activities of fruit juice and the fruit

hydro-soluble fraction were measured, and the
aliquot that produce a 50 % decreased of
DPPH absorbance (IC50) were 6.75 L and
7.68 L, respectively. Fruit organic fraction has
not shown any antiradical activity. The activity
exhibit by juice and hydro-soluble extract are
assigned to polyphenols as ferulic acid and
flavonols, ascorbic acid and betalains.
Tesoriere et al., 2004, reported that 100 g of
cactus pear fruit flesh from yellow Sicilian
cultivars contain 29 mg of vitamin C, 1.21 mg
of betanin, 9.3 mg of indicaxanthin, 80 g of
tocopherol and 1.5 g of -carotene. Major
constituent of the antioxidant fraction is vitamin
C followed by betalains. Same results where
reported by Butera et al., 2002, indicating that
Opuntia ficus-indica cultivars red, yellow and
white varieties present ascorbic acid as main
component (30 mg/ 100 g of edible pulp)
followed by betalains, mainly indicaxanthin and
betanin. Yellow and white varieties are rich in
indicaxanthin, 8.42 and 5.86 mg/ 100 g of fresh
pulp, respectively, and red one in betanin, 5.12
mg/ 100 g of fresh pulp, corresponding in this
case to a 66 % of the total betalain content.
Flavonoid content is about 0.237 g of
flavonols for 100 g of fresh pulp. Total
antioxidant activities towards ABTS+. radical of
aqueous extracts are 5.31 for yellow variety,
4.20 for the red one and 4.36 for the white one
expressed as mol of Trolox equivalent per g
of edible pulp, that is to say the most powerful
one trapping ABTS+. free radicals was the
yellow one.
More recently, antioxidant activity of fruit
extracts for 4 varieties of Opuntia spp (O. ficusindica, O. lindheimeri, O. streptancantha and
O. stricta var. stricta, green, purple, red and
yellow peels, respectively) were reported.
These properties were attributed to the
presence of flavonoids, mainly to quercetin
derivatives, kaempferol and isorhamnetin,
ascorbic acid and carotenoids (Kuti, 2004).
Flavonoid content ranges between 9.8 to 93.5
g per g of fresh fruit and the highest level was
detected for purple peel fruits. Ascorbic acid
content was very variable, 10 to 111 g/ g for
purple fruits and 23 to 792 g/ g for red ones.
Carotenoid contents present highest values for
yellow ones (6.0 to17.7 g/g) and the lowest
for the green ones (1.2 to1.7 g/g). Antioxidant

activity measured as ORAC values correlated

with flavonoid contents and not with ascorbic
acid or carotenoid concentrations.
Stintzing et al. (2005), evaluated antioxidant
activity as ORAC and TEAC values for O.
ficus-indica and O. robusta clones and
assigned it to polyphenols, betalains and
ascorbic acid present in these fruits. They
reported a strong correlation between this
activity with polyphenol content and in lower
degree with betalains. Betaxanthin and
betacyanin contents measured for 100 g of
fresh fruits were 6.59 and 114.04 mg,
respectively. These values coincide with
previous
literature
data
(Odoux
and
Dominguez-Lopez, 1996; Castellar et al., 2003;
Stintzing et al., 2003, Stintzing et al., 2005).
Ascorbic acid contents determined in this
article for Opuntia fruits and their juices were
10 folds lower than other reports (Kuti, 2004;
Butera et al., 2002; Gurrieri et al., 2000) and so
properties as TEAC and ORAC values
compared with other fruits and vegetables.
TEAC values of cactus juices are close to
those of red wine and green tea but they are
lower than those of blueberries or
pomegranate juices. Main active substances
for cactus pears are polyphenols, followed by
betalains and finally ascorbic acid (Stintzing et
al., 2005).
Free-radical scavenging activities for different
Opuntia sp. fruits cultivated in semiarid region
of Argentina were determined in order to
establish a relative comparative scale towards
the same radical. Fruits evaluated were O.
sulphurea, Cereus forbesii, Trichocereus
pasacana, O. robusta, Stetsonia coryne, O.
ficus indica (pinkish, dark purple, purple and
green), O. crassa, H. pomanensis, O.
anacantha
(retrorsa
and
utkilio),
O.
megacantha (white and yellowish) and Opuntia
spp. (purple). Highest antioxidant activity was
obtained for O. sulphurea followed by C.
forbesii. The former presented a noticeable
high value being surpassed only by some fruits
well recognized as rich in antioxidant such as
strawberries, kiwis and blackberries. Figure 2
shows that different cactus fresh fruits present
moderate antioxidant ability, and values are
similar to those of citric and other season fruits.

21

ANTIRADICAL ACTIVITIES OF CACTUS FRUITS

Vitamin C equivalent (mg/g)

1.5
1.3
1.1

1.02

Tradicional fruits

0.85

0.9

0.76

0.72

0.72

0.68

0.7

0.57 0.57

0.54

0.53 0.52 0.51 0.5

0.50 0.48
0.470.46

0.54

0.5

0.27

0.25

0.3

0.46

0.46

peach

tangerine

apricot

grapefruit

orange

pear

O. megacantha (white)

O.f-i (pinkish)

O. anacantha var.utk.

O.f-i (green)

O. anacantha var. Ret.

O.spp.

O. megacantha (yellowish)

H. pomanensis

O.f-i dark (purple)

O.crassa

O.f-i (purple)

S. coryne

O.robusta

T. pasacana

C. forbesii

-0.1

O. sulphurea

0.1

Figure 2. Antiradical activities of cactus fruit

Bioactive substance contents were also
measured for different cactus fruits from
Argentina (Coria Cayupn et al., 2007).
Analysis per 1 g of Opuntia spp, O.
megacantha and O. ficus-indica purple and
dark purple fresh fruit have showed ranges for
vitamin C content of 0.26-0.48 mg, and for total
polyphenol
content
of
0.54-1.12
mg.
Considering that the Dietary Reference Intake
for vitamin C is about 60 mg per day, the
portion of cactus fruit containing this amount of
vitamin ranges 125 to 230 g. Vitamin C values
are similar to those reported for different
species and varieties of Opuntia corresponding
to 0.121-0.815 mg/g of fresh fruits (Kuti, 2004;
Butera et al., 2002). Besides, O. spp. purple,
O. ficus-indica dark purple and O. megacantha
yellowish present the highest total polyphenols
contents among the samples studied whereas
O. megacantha white has the lowest one.
From these results, the antioxidant activity
correlates with polyphenol contents more than
with vitamin C content (Cai et al., 2003), O.
spp. purple and O. ficus-indica dark purple
present the highest concentration of betalains
followed by O. ficus-indica purple. Besides,

betacyanin concentration is much higher than

that of betaxanthins. A different situation
occurs with O. megacantha yellowish pigment
composition, where betaxanthin concentration
is three folds of that of betacyanins. -carotene
presence was also detected. Carotenoid
content is 31 g/ g of fresh fruit, corresponding
to a Vitamin A value of 5.2 RE/g. The fruits
studied present good inputs of vitamin C to a
diet and this substance is one of the
responsible to the total antioxidant activity. O.
ficus-indica
purple
has
the
highest
concentration of vitamin C. Cactus fruits are
also rich in polyphenolic compounds and the
free radical scavenging ability of fruit extract
correlates as well with their concentration.

Uses of cactus pear extract as

antioxidant additives
Extracts obtained from cactus pear fruits where
used experimentally as additives to prevent oil
oxidation. Opuntia ficus-indica fruit extracts
were added to a lipid system formed by fish oil
or its emulsions and the lipid peroxidation was
monitored by conjugated dienes formation.
22

Oxidation reaction rate decreased by extract

addition and inhibitory effect of 0.1% extract
after storage during 12 days was comparable
with that of BHA and slightly higher than that of
BHT. Extract addition produce a significant
reduction in peroxide index compared with
control system. O. ficus indica fruit extracts
were heated at 50, 75 and 100 C for 15 min
without antioxidant activity losses. Such heat
stability makes them good alternatives
compared to less thermostable compounds as
-tocopherol (Siriwardhana and Jeon, 2004).

Processing effect in antioxidant

activity of cactus fruits
Piga et al. (2003) studied minimally processed
cactus pear fruits. Peeled fruits were kept at
4C and total phenol contents, vitamin C and
antioxidant activity were monitored for 3, 6 and
9 days. Results showed that no significant
losses of ascorbic acid took place in 9 days.
This was attributed by the protective effect of
polyphenols which concentration decreased in
6 days. No important decreases in TEAC
values were found, and a strong correlation
(0.978) between this antioxidant activity and
ascorbic acid content was observed confirming
ascorbic acid as one of the most important
antioxidant in fruits.
Studies directed to evaluate possible changes

in the content of bioactive substances and

nutritional values of cactus pear fruits
conserved under refrigerated storage were
carried out by Coria Cayupn et al. (2007).
When Opuntia ficus-indica "Yellow without
spines" is exported from Argentina to Northern
hemisphere countries, the transfer of the fruits
is carried out by sea (5-8C) and delays
approximately 3-4 weeks. In order to evaluate
the
real
amount
of
health-promoting
substances present in the fruits when they
arrive to external markets and consumers,
post-harvest and transport conditions were
simulated during the same period of time.
Possible changes in antiradical activity, vitamin
C and total polyphenol content were evaluated
at the harvest date and after their storage at
8C for 3 and 4 weeks. This antiradical ability
of cactus pear fruits remains after 4 weeks at
8C without significant changes. In general, an
increase in the concentration of active
substances is observed corresponding to the
loss of water content of the fruits of almost 10
% in 4 weeks. Pulp humidity showed much
smaller variations of approximately 4 %, in the
mentioned period of time. Total polyphenol
content at harvest time was 0.60 mg/g while
reached 0.71 and 0.77 mg/g in 3 and 4 weeks
respectively. No important vitamin losses were
detected as shown in Figure 3. As conclusion,
fruit keep their beneficial properties even after
4 weeks of refrigerated storage.

0,6
0,5
0,4
Vit C content 0,3
mg/g
0,2
0,1
0

Weeks

Vitamin C

VCEAC

Figure 3. Evolution of Vitamin C content and Antioxidant Activity for refrigerated storage
of cactus pear fruits at 8C
Many cactus species produce edible fruits,
often consumed as fresh fruits as well as dried
food or in processed products as marmalades,
jams, ice-creams, juices or syrup. Antiradical
activity measurements of these fruit derivatives
show that, even after thermal treatments,
marmalades and jams elaborated from cactus
fruits retain this capacity. Opuntia ficus-indica

syrup has an antioxidant activity equivalent to

102 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 g of product.
Cereus forbesii Jam activity value was 74 mg/
100 g, and O. robusta and O. anacantha
marmalades, activity values were equivalent to
64 and 56 mg of vitamin C per 100 g. These
are similar to those obtained for marmalades of
traditional fruits as pears, oranges and

23

strawberries of 65, 35, and 73 mg of vitamin C

per 100 g respectively. Retention of antiradical
activity of cactus products is higher compared
to those of other traditional fruit products.
These processed products derived from cactus

fruits can be considered as functional food

because of their good activity; they are
available all the year long and well-accepted
by most consumers.

Figure 4. Antioxidant activity of fruits products

In vivo assays
Although in vitro determinations of the intrinsic
antioxidant activity of food are relevant, is
important to consider that the factors that
influence its efficiency in vivo are complex,
thus, the results obtained in vitro cannot easily
be extrapolated to in vivo systems.
The effectiveness of an antioxidant depends
on diverse factors as its bioavailability, the
action site, the type of reactive species with
which it will react and the possible synergistic
effects with other compounds present in the
food matrix. Among factors previously
mentioned, one of most important is the
bioavailability which mainly depends on the
antioxidant releasing from the food matrix, its

stability in the gut flora, the chemical

modifications that it may suffer in the intestine,
its absorption through the intestinal wall
towards the blood stream, the stability in the
liver and its accessibility to the tissue to the
target site (William et al., 2004).
As well as for in vitro determinations, there are
several methodologies developed to determine
the in vivo activity of an extract or a substance.
They basically imply the measurements of
certain "markers" associated to the oxidative
damage in body fluids, before and after
changes in the diet or supplementation with an
antioxidant extract (Aruoma, 2003). Some
examples of these target molecules used to
evaluate body oxidative level are shown in
Table 1.

24

Table 1: Biomarkers of oxidative stress in humans

Markers

Description

Ref.

Isoprostanes have been described as F-prostaglandin isomers

produced by araquidonic acid oxidation. Isoprostanes levels in vivo
increased under oxidative stress conditions. Measurement of
different groups of isoprostanes might be an approach to asses the
relative rates of peroxidation of different PUFAs in vivo and
emerged as one of the most reliable biomarkers. Determinations
are carried out by CG-MS.

(Roberts and
Morrow, 2000;
Tesoriere et al.,
2004; Budinsky
et al., 2001)

Malondialdehyde
(MDA) in plasma
or serum

MDA is the final degradation product of peroxides formed in

the oxidation of free fatty acid or membranes. It can be detected in
plasma as a biomarker for the in vivo lipidic oxidation. Its reaction
with thiobarbituric acid is followed by the colour development of the
formed adduct.

(Cadenas, 2001;
Halliwell and
Grootveld, 1987;
Janero, 1990)

Glutation redox
status in red bood
cells

Glutation is the most powerful intracellular antioxidant and its

relation between its oxidized and reduced forms (GSH:GSSG)
represents the antioxidant capacity of the cell.

(Martnez
Sarrasague et al.,
2006).

F2-isoprostanes
(8-epi-PGF2)
in plasma or urine

Low Density
Lipoprotein (LDL)
analysis in plasma

LDL oxidation is a free radical process leading to numerous

structural and functional changes, crucial in atherosclerotic lesion
formation. This reaction happens mainly between the walls of the
blood vessels therefore, the LDL oxidative status reflects the
oxidation state of the blood vessels. Fatty acid peroxidation
conducing to conjugated diene formation can be detected by
Spectrophotometry.

Other interesting parameter for evaluation is

the global bodys antioxidant status level after
a special diet. As an example, after
supplementation with cactus pear fruits to
human, bioactive substance levels in plasma
were determined measured as well as the
antioxidant ability of this fluid was measured
and expressed as TEAC values.

Evaluation of the Antioxidant

activity in vivo of cactus products
Betalains, those pigments widely spread in
cactus pear fruits have been reported to exert
an important role in preventing oxidative stress
injuries. Main interests of researches in this
subject are focused to determination of
betalain contents, their absorption and
antioxidant effects in vivo. Since antioxidant
efficiency in vivo fundamentally depends on its
bioavailability, assays that tend to study those
properties of betalains were carried out.
Experiments have demonstrated that red beet
betalains have been detected in urine after 2 or
3 h of ingestion, recovering 0.5 to 0.9 % of the
total intake. Other interesting fact is that
betalain detected in urine is recovered as its
isomeric form isobetanin demonstrating that

(Cadenas, 2001;
Tesoriere et al.,
2004).

the
original
molecule
undergoes
an
isomerization process probably due to body
high temperature (Kanner et al., 2001).
Betalains have also been detected in blood
after 3 h of ingestion of 500 g of fresh cactus
pulps. After this period, pigment concentration
was decreasing along time and almost
disappeared in 8 h (Tesoriere et al., 2005).
Betalain levels were also measured in human
body fluids showed after intake of cactus pear
fruits. Urine recovery after 12 hours was about
76 % for indicaxanthin and 3.7 % for betanin.
Pigment peak concentrations were reached in
plasma in 3 hours after ingestion for both of
them and completely disappeared in12 h after
ingestion (Tesoriere et al., 2004).
Betalains have been reported to increase the
resistance to human LDL oxidation (Tesoriere
et al., 2003; Zakharova and Petrova, 1998).
They are able to bind to low density
lipoproteins (LDL) and this union prevent their
oxidation. After fruit consumption, LDL
extracted from plasma in this conditions
indicated that 3 h after intake, indicaxanthin
was incorporated in 98 pmol/mg of protein
diminishing in 5 h and it complete disappeared
in 8 h. Betanin was detected only 3 h after fruit
consumption and lag time of LDL oxidation

25

induced by copper was longer compared with

control.
Ex vivo study evaluated the oxidative
hemolysis of human red blood cells induced by
free radicals. Blood samples were taken from
volunteers after ingestion of cactus pear fruits.
Results indicated that cell resistance to
hemolysis was higher after 3 h of fruit intake
corresponding to highest plasma level of
betalains (Tesoriere et al., 2005). Besides,
methanolic extract containing 1 to 5 mg of
Opuntia ficus-indica pulp inhibited MDA
formation in 4 h incubation of blood cells
exposed to organic hydroperoxides as a free
radical source (Butera et al., 2002).
A comparative study was carried out to
evaluate the effect of O. ficus indica intake and
vitamin C supplementation in oxidative status
of healthy volunteers (Tesoriere et al., 2004).
Results showed that the consumption of 250 g
of fresh fruit pulp as well as its equivalent, 75
mg vitamin C supplementation produce an
increase of vitamin C and E levels. No
changes were found in vitamin A content or
TEAC value in plasma. Differences between
both treatments become relevant in oxidative
stress biomarker levels. After fruit intake, 8-epiPGF2 and MDA plasma values decreased in
30 and 75 %, respectively, while glutation
redox-status relation (GSH:GSSG) in red blood
cells was enhanced since the reduced form
increased.
LDL-conjugated
dienes
hydroperoxide level was significantly reduced
and
so
LDL
oxidation.
Vitamin
C
supplementation has not produced changes in
oxidative stress markers indicating that cactus
fruit efficiency is due to AO combination
including vitamin C and other co-nutrients as
betalains.
Budinsky et al. (2001), reported that regular
ingestion of broiled pulp of O. robusta is able to
reduce significantly in vivo oxidative damage in
hypercholesterolemic patients. Injury was
evaluated measuring 8-epi-PGF2 in plasma,
serum and urine. Results showed that fruit
ingestion had not influence in body weight
neither in body fat content however total
cholesterol level decreased specially in men.
Values of 8-epi-PGF2 in plasma as well in
serum and urine presented an important
decrease being more noticeable in women.
Compounds responsible for such bioactivity
have not been yet established.

Conclusions
Protective effects towards oxidation processes
exerted by fruits, juices and their processed
products have been widely demonstrated in

vitro systems as well as in vivo experiments.

Cactus fruits have been reported as excellent
sources of bioactive substances such as
vitamins and antioxidants. Processed products
elaborated from fruits are able to retain the
antiradical capacity so they can be considered
as functional foods available all year long. This
ability to inhibit oxidation reactions are
attributed to the presence of polyphenols,
betalains and vitamin C as the main active
compounds. Experimental in vivo results show
that regular supplementation with cactus fruits
in a normal diet enhances health status
reducing oxidative stress effect.

Acknowledgements
Authors are especially grateful to Prof.
Judith Ochoa and her team work from
INDEAS for fruit and plant material supply,
technical support and valuable discussions.
This work was supported by CONICET,
ANPCYT and CICYT-UNSE.
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27

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28

Antihyperlipidemic Effect Of Cactus Products

Helmut Sinzinger
1

The Austrian-Greek Atherosclerosis Prevention Initiative (AGAPI),

Wilhelm Auerswald-Atherosclerosis Research Group (ASF) Vienna, Austria

Nadlergasse 1, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. Tel +43 1 4082633; Fax: +43 1 4081366; E-mail:
helmut.sinzinger@chello.at

Abstract
Used in traditional medicine since long,
Opuntia and compounds derived from it have
shown under experimental conditions as well
as in human that a variety of metabolic
parameters are beneficially affected. The
underlying responsible compound, however,
fruit or cactus itself, which type, the
preparation, the amount necessary per day are
not well defined. There is, however, certain
evidence that Opuntia consumption besides
improving glucose metabolism exerts multiple
beneficial actions on lipid metabolism. A
decrease in total- and LDL-cholesterol and a
decreased oxidation of lipoproteins is
consistently reported. Main mechanism of
action could be an increase in hepatic LDLbinding eventually associated with a decreased
absorption. Radical scavenging capacity may
decrease atherogenicity of lipoproteins.
Evidence based data from prospective
controlled should be collected in order to
assess the mechanism as well as the extent of
action of cactus.
In view of the ever growing (semi-)arid regions
and the expected climatic change the intake of
cactus as crop as well as dietary nutrient will
gain great relevance.
Key words: atherosclerosis hyperlipidemia
cactus LDL-receptor prickly pear radical
scavenger

Introduction
The role of natural products in medicine and
pharmacology is tremendously increasing in
these days. On the one hand, since long drugs
have been derived from various plants, on the
other hand, fruits and nutrients since long used
by local people for various health issues, are
gaining increasing attention and also
commercial interest. Among them: cacti.
Cactus can be considered as an important
crop in (semi-)arid regions and as a natural
source of fatty acids with a variety of beneficial
biological actions. The large number of

potentially active nutrients and their great

many properties make cactus a promising
candidate to produce health promising food or
supplements (Feugang et al., 2006).
Mainly two desert plants recently attracted
interest. The first one, Hoodia gordonii from the
Kalahari desert, also called the queen of the
Namic, mostly erroneously described as a
cactus but in fact being a succulent plant, was
used by witch doctors in South Africa to
alleviate hunger and thirst. Quality control of
available products is poor and heavily
criticised. The other one is Opuntia, used since
long by Pima Indians against diabetes mellitus,
which shows an extremely high prevalence in
this particular population. Discussing with local
witch doctors in Arizona more than a decade
ago, I recognized that Opuntia but not other
cactus since long has been successfully used
there as a dietary nutrient for treatment. The
frequent referral and general acceptance
contrast with limited data. Although since long
traditionally appreciated for its pharmacological
properties by a native American population but
also in other parts of the world (Oh and LIm,
2006), cactus pear is still hardly recognized for
that indication due to insufficient scientific
information. In fact, there is a number of
experimental and clinical work indicating that
Opuntia may show some metabolic benefits.
The overwhelming majority is dealing with the
hypoglycaemic action (Frati Munari et al.,
1991 ; Frai Munari et al., 1992; Roman-Ramos
et al., 1995; Trejo-Gonzalez et al., 1996;
Wolfram et al., 2002), while information as to
lipid metabolism and in particular human is
limited.
It is the aim of this paper to review the current
evidence of antihyperlipidemic action and
potential mechanisms behind.

Available information
History
The
investigation
of
prehistoric
diets
(Danielson and Rainhard, 1998) indicates that
already in this period about 6000 years ago
prickly pear was widely consumed by the
29

Native American population.

Current use
Nopalitos (young sprouts) of Opuntia ficusindica are widely used in Mexico as
vegetables. The Mexicans have more than 100
recipes for the preparation of nopalitos. Also in
South Korea Opuntia ficus-indica is a
traditional health fruit which also has been
used to prevent various diseases for a long
time (Han et al., 2001; Oh and Lim, 2006).

Background
Elevated lipids and lipoproteins, in particular
after oxidative modification, have been shown
to be a key risk factor for the development of
atherosclerosis. A decrease in total cholesterol
of only 1% results in a 3-percent decreased
vascular risk. Thus, nutritional measures being
able to modulate total- and LDL-cholesterol are
of key relevance on a population base.

Experimental findings
In rats, an extract from Opuntia fuliginosa was
purified and shown to normalize blood glucose.
The low amount of substance administered (1
mg/kg body weight) excludes a relevant role of
dietary fiber (Trejo-Gonzalez et al., 1996). On
the other hand, prickly pear pectin was
demonstrated to improve lipid metabolism at
the hepatic receptor level (Fernandez et al.,
1992; Fernandez et al., 1994). In Wistar rats
(Li et al., 2005) Opuntia powder decreased
total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, and
malondialdehyde. The hypolipidemic action
observed was dose-dependent.
In guinea pigs, the addition of prickly pear
pectin
decreases
LDL-cholesterol
by
increasing the expression of hepatic apo-B,E
receptor (Fernandez et al., 1994). Fernandez
et al. (Fernandez et al., 1992) showed in
guinea pigs that after prickly pear pectin
administration hepatic apo-B,E receptor
expression (Bmax) was 60% increased and the
fractional catabolic rate by 190%.
In mice, Opuntia ficus-indica glycoprotein with
a molecular mass of about 90 kDa has been
shown to act as radical scavenger decreasing
thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and
increasing nitric oxide (Oh et al., 2006). It was
also claimed that via blocking lipid peroxidation
endothelial function may be improved by
increasing relative local NO availability.
Furthermore, this glycoprotein has been shown
to decrease blood total cholesterol, LDLcholesterol and triglycerides. We found
(unpublished data) that in rat aortic
prostaglandin I2-formation was significantly

increased, most likely due to a decreased

oxidation injury preserving local prostacyclin
synthese activity.
Ennouri and coworkers (Ennouri et al., 2005)
showed a decrease in total and LDLcholesterol in rats fed prickly pear seed oil,
exceptionally rich in linoleic acid, while HDL
remained unchanged.

Human data
In a randomized cross-over double-blind study
in 18 healthy volunteers receiving either 250 g
fresh pulp of Opuntia ficus-indica or 75 mg
vitamin C for 2 weeks daily there was a
comparable increase in vitamins E and C. 8epi-PGF2
(an
isoprostane)
and
malondialdehyde indicators of oxidative stress
dropped by about 30 and 75%, respectively
(Tresoriere et al., 2004). Opuntia streptacantha
was able to decrease the area under the
glucose
tolerance
curve
and
the
hyperglycaemic peak (Roman-Ramos et al.,
1995).
It remains to be elucidated, whether the
antiplatelet action reported is due to the
hypolipemic and/or the antioxidant effect or a
direct antiplatelet action (Wolfram et al., 2003).
In one study, the edible pulp of Opuntia
robusta given for 4 weeks at 250 g per day
showed a significant lowering of total (p < 0.01)
and LDL-cholesterol (p < 0.04), while HDL and
triglycerides remained unchanged. The
observed decrease in plasma, serum and
urinary
isoprostane
(IP)
8-epi-PGF2
(Budinsky etv al., 2001) indicated that
significant lowering of oxidation injury. There
was a significant correlation of IP with total
cholesterol and even more close to LDLcholesterol, and a negative one to HDL, the
vitamin content being unable to explain the
benefit. Using radioiodine labelled LDL shows
a significant upregulation of LDL binding sites
in men (16) determined via in-vivo gamma
camera imaging. The same design used in 10
patients with isolated heterozygous familial
hypercholesterolemia for 6 weeks showed a
significant (p < 0.0001) increase in LDL uptake
by the liver and an enhanced decay in
circulating blood. Total cholesterol was
lowered from a mean of 298.0 to 268.0 mg/dl
(p < 0.0001) and LDL-cholesterol from 210.5 to
176.4 mg/dl (p < 0.0001). Again, triglycerides
and HDL were unaffected.
In another paper of the same group, mainly
aimed to study the effect on glucose and lipid
metabolism in non-diabetics, a decrease of
total cholesterol by 12% LDL-cholesterol by

30

15% and apolipoprotein B (-9%), fibrinogen (11%), blood glucose (-11%), insulin (-11%)
and uric acid (-10%) was found. HDL, apo-A 1,
lipoprotein(a) and triglycerides, in contrast,
remained unchanged.

Capsules
Various preparations of nopal capsules are
available around the world. The application of
commercial dried nopal capsules in diabetics
versus placebo was not able to acutely
improve lipid or glucose metabolism despite
using the impractical dose of 30 capsules at a
single application (Frati Munari et al., 1992;
Frati Munari et al., 2004). In contrast, 500 g of
broiled stems of Opuntia streptacantha given
orally in 8 type II diabetics versus 6 healthy
volunteers induced a significant decrease in
glucose the diabetics versus the controls (Frati
Munari et al., 1992). No scientific data on lipid
metabolism of nopal capsules are available.
Meckes-Lozoya et al. (Meckes-Lozoya aand
Ibanez-Camacho, 1989) investigated the
hypoglycaemic
activity
of
Opuntia
streptacantha and did not find seasonal
variations concerning this effect.

Discussion
Already in 1989 Moore and coworkers (Moore,
1989) wrote that a benefit of prickly pear
consumption in diabetes is clinically verifiable.
Fernandez et al. (Fernandez et al., 1994) were
the first to claim that prickly pear pectin intake
decreases LDL-cholesterol by increasing the
hepatic apo-B,E receptor expression in guinea
pigs fed a hypercholesterolemic diet. The
absorption,
however,
was
unaffected.
Furthermore, Opuntia humifusa for example,
was reported to exert a direct scavenging
activity and inhibition of reactive species
generation resulting in a decreased expression
of cytokines (Cho et al., 2006).

Conclusion
Consistently, in animal experiments as well as
in men cactus products seem to improve lipid
metabolism (lowering total- and LDLcholesterol) and decreasing the extent of
lipoprotein oxidation. This review focuses on
lipid action of cactus (products) in experimental
animals and human. Unanimously, a beneficial
effect on total- and LDL-cholesterol is reported
which may be due to an increase in hepatic
LDL-binding and a decreased absorption.
Compositional changes and antioxidant action
on lipoproteins may add a further piece to the
antiatherosclerotic actions.

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Ariza-Andraca R, del Carmeritorres M.
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31

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cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit

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32

Healthy Lipophilic Fiber from Cactus

Catherine Thimonier and Karen Jauntre
BIO SERAE Laboratoires SA 1 av. de la Preuilhe. Parc Tech. du Lauragais - 11 150 Bram France
marketing@bioserae.com
www.bioserae.com - info@bioserae.com; www. NeOpu ntia .com

Abstract
BIO SERAE Laboratories, French company
established in 1984, has been working since
the end of the 90s in the field of
nutraceuticals, to develop innovative &
original active ingredients. Obesity and
associated disorders being one of the major
issues of developed countries populations,
its R&D team focused its research on weight
management ingredients, and particularly on
dietary fibers. After comparative studies, they
chose Opuntia ficus-indica for its assets as a
lipophilic fiber, and developed NeOpuntia
This article will have a look on the research
works made on this cactus-based ingredient,
and will particularly focus on the latest
clinical study conducted syndrome X
related.

Introduction
NeOpuntia is a functional ingredient resulting
from a long step by step development process.
It is made from dehydrated leaves of cactus
Opuntia ficus-indica via a patented process
(PCT / FR02 / 01254).
NeOpuntia is an original complex of insoluble
and soluble dietary fibers which offers
interesting lipophilic properties. NeOpuntia
can indeed be involved to reduce fat absorption
into the body, with instant efficiency starting in

the stomach. There, hydrophobic interaction

takes place between insoluble fibers and fat
units. Primary interactions are then stabilized
thanks to the soluble fibers (polysaccharides
which create a fluid gel, stable at any pH). The
fat/fibers interaction formed is thought to
reduce fat bioavailability during digestion, and
is naturally eliminated.
The legal status of NeOpuntia is clear: it is a
food grade ingredient made from the leaves of
prickly pear cactus. Historically, the leaves
have been consumed throughout Latin
America and Southern Europe for centuries.
NeOpuntia is thus exempted from Novel Food
procedure: it means that the raw material from
which the ingredient is made is considered as a
traditional everyday consumption vegetable.
NeOpuntia is 100% green and natural, and
certified Kosher, Vegetarian and Organic (by
ECOCERT S.A.S. F32600). It is made from
cactus thanks to a patented gentle chemical-free
production process, respectful for the plant, the
environment and the human body. Major
players in the nutraceuticals and in the food
industries already trusted NeOpuntia and
incorporated it as a branded ingredient into
their weight management range of products.
More than 150 finished products are available
worldwide.

Scientific background
NeOpuntia is backed by strong scientific

33

research works, including various in vitro and

in vivo studies.
The lipophilic capacity of NeOpuntia was first
tested in a dynamic in vitro model of the
gastrointestinal tract. This model very closely
simulates the human digestion conditions, and
was conducted at TNO Nutrition and Food
Research (The Netherlands). Two grams of
NeOpuntia were added to a standardized
meal. Various fractions were collected from all
the gastro-intestinal compartments and the
fatty acid composition was analyzed. This
study shows that NeOpuntia absorbs 28,3%
of total fatty acids during the 4-hour experiment
time frame. In 2003, a pilot clinical study was
conducted in partnership with the CERN
(France). This double blind study was
conducted on 10 volunteers (5 women and 5
men), controlled by placebo, randomised and
crossed on 2 groups. It suggests that 1,6g of
NeOpuntia per meal increases fat excretion
on an average of 27%, compared to placebo.
In 2004, a comparative TNO test with a branded
chitosan showed that, under exactly the same
conditions, this latest had no effect on the
experiment, while NeOpuntia decreased fatty
acid bio-accessibility by 28.3%.
In 2005, BIO SERAE decided to renew its
collaboration with the TNO institute. The
efficacy of NeOpuntia to bind fat was tested
by measuring the bio-accessible lipid fraction at
the dosage of 2g of NeOpuntia, associated
with a traditional American breakfast,
intentionally rich in fats to provide the greatest
effects on gastrointestinal physiology, as
recommended by the FDA to test usual drugs.
The results of the study confirmed lipophilic
properties of NeOpuntia : associated to an
American breakfast intake, NeOpuntia
absorbed about 23% of total fatty acids
compared to a control. This study shows a real
potential interest of NeOpuntia as a food
ingredient. Associated in food formula,
NeOpuntia could prevent some of the fat
metabolism while keeping satisfaction linked to
the taste of fat.

Latest clinical study, Syndrome X

related
After this set of studies confirming
NeOpuntias lipophilic properties and its ability
to interact with fats, BIO SERAE wished to
conduct a larger study designed to assess
NeOpuntias ability to manage 5 risk factors
typically associated with Metabolic Syndrome
(Syndrome X). This latest study indeed
revealed another facet of NeOpuntia and
highlighted its positive role in balancing blood

lipid levels (HDL cholesterol, triglycerides),

parameters which are linked to Syndrome X
diagnosis...
Metabolic Syndrome (Syndrome X), is now
considered as the sum of non-pathological
disorders which constitutes THE factor of
cardiovascular risk, and not only blood lipid
parameters. The clinical definition of Metabolic
Syndrome is based on five parameters, but the
presence of only 3 of them is sufficient to
diagnose it. The interest of the study is thus to
test NeOpuntia for its ability to regulate those 5
parameters and influence Metabolic Syndrome
diagnosis. These 5 criteria as defined by the
International Diabetes Federation (2005) are
presented here-after, abdominal obesity being
a mandatory criterion of Metabolic Syndrome:
-

Fasting glucose > 1,00 g/l

Abdominal Obesity (waist circumference) >

80cm for women, > 94cm for men

Blood pressure > 130/85 mm Hg

Blood triglycerides > 1,5 g/l

HDL Cholesterol < 0,50 g/l for women, <

0,40 g/l for men

Methods
The objective of this clinical study was to
evaluate the efficacy of NeOpuntia on blood
lipid parameters. It was conducted in France
between May and June 2006 on 68 females
with a BMI (Body Mass Index) between 25 and
40, and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome
as defined by the International Diabetes
Federation in 2005.
The study was monocentric, randomised,
placebo-controlled, in parallel double blind
format. Several lipid parameters were
measured: changes in HDL cholesterol, serum
triglycerides. At the end of the study the
participants were re-evaluated for metabolic
syndrome.
During the 6 week study, half of the females
consumed 1,6 g of NeOpuntia per meal and
the other half consumed a placebo. The
placebo and NeOpuntia were given in the form
of capsules. All along the study, volunteers had
to follow dietary advice in order to respect a
balanced diet (average caloric input of 2000
kcal, lipid input limitation) and to have minimum
physical activity (30 min per day). During this
study, several blood lipid parameters were
controlled (D0, D+14 et D+42), in particular the
evolution of HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and
metabolic syndrome diagnostic.

34

First of all, there was no observed side effect

due to the consumption of NeOpuntia. The
ingested dose did not imply any particular
discomfort during the test : no gastric disorder
nor bloated feelings were reported.
NeOpuntia improved the level of good
cholesterol (HDL cholesterol level), which is
generally
associated
with
a
reduced
cardiovascular risk. NeOpuntia indeed created
a positive effect on the HDL cholesterol level of
the test population, while studies show that an
increase of 0,01 g/l of the HDL cholesterol level
reduces cardiovascular risk by 5,5% (Lipid
Research Program : the lipid research clinics
coronary prevention trial results. JAMA 1984;
251: 351-374. & Circulation 1986; 74: 12171225)

HDL, g/l
0.04
0.02
0

-0.047

-0.04
-0.06
NeOpuntia

40%
30%

39%

20%

Placebo
NeOpuntia

10%
8%

0%

Placebo

NeOpuntia

Figure 2. Women diagnosed free of

Metabolic Syndrome at the end of the
study
Specific sub-groups (identified according to
criteria such as age, glycemia or blood
pressure) were even more sensitive to
NeOpuntia: on a receptive population, near
than 60% of women in the test group were
diagnosed to be free of Metabolic Syndrome, at
the end of the study. This result is statistically
significant.

Conclusion

0.0217

-0.02

% free of metabolic syndr

Results

Placebo

Figure 1. Evolution of HDL level (g/liter)

In women 45 years or older, NeOpuntia
caused a large improvement by increasing
levels of good HDL-cholesterol and decreasing
levels of harmful triglycerides. The NeOpuntia
group of this specific subdivision benefited from
a favourable evolution of their HDL level
(significant difference between the 2 groups
evolution: p = 0.029). This effect has been
reinforced by a positive evolution of
triglycerides according to a p close to the
significant trend.
And, at the end of the study, near than 40% of
women in the NeOpuntia group was no longer
diagnosed
with
Metabolic
syndrome
(Syndrome X).

To conclude, we can say that, in addition to its

lipophilic properties, results indicate that
NeOpuntia (patented powder of Opuntia
ficus-indica) could help to balance blood lipids
level and reduce cardiovascular risk due to its
beneficial effects on HDL cholesterol level.
This study showed that NeOpuntia could play
a part in the regulation of the parameters linked
to Syndrome X and influence its diagnostic,
particularly regarding the HDL and triglycerides
parameters. It is also interesting to note that
the effects of NeOpuntia can be even more
important on specific populations.
This latest clinical study revealed thus another
facet of NeOpuntia : beyond its lipophilic /
weight management properties, NeOpuntia
offers further health benefits which perfectly
sticks to the current trend of the weight
management market, which intends to target
not only weight loss, but also health-related
troubles linked to obesity (Syndrome X, for
instance).

35

Beneficial Effect Of Opuntia Ficus Indica Seeds And Oil On

Animal Health
Monia Ennouri
Alimentary Analysis Unit, National Engineering School of Sfax, BPW 3038, Sfax,
Tunisia
Higher Institute for the Applied Sciences and Technology of Mahdia, FSEG Sidi
Messaoud 5111, Mahdia, Tunisia
E-mail address: Monia.Ennouri@enis.rnu.tn

Abstract
The purpose our investigation concern the
evaluation of the effects of diets enriched with
cactus pear oil (CPO) or seeds (CPS) on
serum and liver lipid parameters compared to
those of adult rats submitted to standard diet
were tested. Male rats were divided into three
groups, the first group represented control
group, fed with standard diet, the second group
was fed with control diet supplemented with
CPO (2.5%, wt/wt) and the third group fed
control diet supplemented with CPS (33%,
wt/wt), for nine weeks. Feed intake and body
weight of rats were measured every two days.
Cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides levels were
determined by enzymatic methods. Liver and
serum lipid extracts were analysed for their
fatty acid composition for the three groups of
rats.
The tested diets decreased significantly the
atherogenic index compared to control diet,
whereas serum cholesterol level was only
reduced by the supplementation with CPO diet.
No variations in serum lipids were observed
among the groups, whereas liver lipids showed
slight variations. Accordingly, these results
indicated that the supplementation with CPO or
CPS could be effective in decreasing the
atherogenic risk factors in rats
Key words: Opuntia ficus-indica seeds; Fatty
acids profile; Liver; Serum; Cholesterol

Introduction
Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) grows
throughout Tunisia and the fruits are
consumed exclusively as fresh fruit. The seeds
are rich in oil, known for its content in
polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The seeds are made of two different tissues,
the endosperm and the pericarp in the relative
proportion of 1:9 respectively. Analysis of the
main constituents of prickly pear seeds
showed
a
significant
amount
of
polysaccharides, cellulose and hemicelluloses,

the structure of their glucuronoxylans has been

identified by Habibi, Mahrouz, and Vignon
(2002). The seeds of Opuntia ficus-indica (cv.
Gigante) contain a storage protein having a
molecular mass of 6.5 kDa isolated and
characterized by Uchoa, Souza, Zarate,
Gomez-Filho and Campos (1998). The cactus
pear seeds proteins are rich in mineral and
sulfur amino acids, such as methionine and
cysteine which represent nearly twice the
FAO/WHO (FAO/WHO, 1973) recommended
requirements for human. Seeds composition of
cactus pear fruits during the maturation period
has been studied by Coskuner and Tekin
(2003). Their nutritive value has been studied
by Sawaya, Khalil, and Al-Mohammad (1983).
The cactus pear seed oil composition and its
chemical characteristics were investigated by
Sawaya and Khan (1982), and by Salvo,
Galati, Lo Curto and Tripodo (2002).
Dietary fatty acids have a significant effect on
plasma cholesterol and levels of lipoproteins,
which are linked to the incidence of coronary
heart disease (CHD) (Hu, Mason & Willer,
2001; Yu, Derr, Etherton & Kris-Etherton,
1995).
Recently, the use of functional food and/or
nutraceuticals has increased due to their
beneficial effects on human health (Dubick,
1986).
Among Mediterranean plants, prickly pear
seeds and oil exhibit hypoglycemic and
hypocholesterolemic effects (Ennouri, Fetoui,
Bourret, Zeghal & Attia, 2006a, Ennouri et al.,
2006b) due probably to the fatty acid
composition of the prickly pear seeds oil
(Ennouri, Bourret, Mondolot & Attia, 2005).
Changes in the fatty composition of several
tissues such as liver and serum could be
attributed to the type of fat ingested in the diet.
Therefore, the aim of the current study was to
evaluate the effect of diet supplemented with
cactus pear oil (CPO) or cactus pear seeds
(CPS) comparatively to control diet, given to

36

adult rats, on body weights, lipid parameters in

serum and fatty acids profile in their serum and
liver.

Results
Chemical composition of diets
Table 1 shows the chemical composition of fed
diets substituted with oil (CPO) or seed powder
(CPS) and the control diet. The CPS diet was
rich in lipids and fiber compared to control. The
CPO diet was also rich in lipids compared to
control.

Feed intake and Body weight of rats

A significantly lower average gain of body
weight in the CPS group was obtained during
the nine weeks of treatment despite a greater
feed consumption than those of the control and
CPO groups. In the CPO group, no significant
body weight gain was obtained compared to
control (Table 2).

Effect of diet substitution on plasma

cholesterol
and
triglyceride
concentrations
The CPO group had a significant reduction in
total cholesterol and the ratio of HDL
cholesterol to total cholesterol was significantly
higher than that of the control group (Table 3).
The last parameter was negatively correlated
with the risk of coronary heart disease, as
reported by Barter and Rye (1996). An
increase by 93% of serum triglyceride level
was noted in CPO group, this increase may be
explained by the rise of serum lipid level as
reported in our results. In CPS group the ratio
of HDL cholesterol to total cholesterol
increased significantly compared to control,
since HDL cholesterol was increased, while
serum triglyceride level decreased by 53%
compared to control group. The atherogenic
index was significantly lower in CPO and CPS
than the control group. This result was in
agreement with Davignon and Cohn (1996)
who have indicated that a decrease of serum
triglyceride level was associated with lower risk
of coronary disease.

Serum and liver lipid contents

The lipid content of serum increased
significantly in the CPO and CPS groups
compared to control (Fig.2 A) whereas in the
CPS group a significant decrease in liver lipid
content was noted (Fig.2 B). The reduction in
the level of liver total lipids in CPS group
paralleled that of serum triglycerides. The liver
weight was greater in CPO group than in the
control group, it was probably due to the

accumulation of lipids in liver. As the fiber

content was the only major variable in the
ingredients of CPO and CPS diets (Table 1),
the supplementation of diet with whole cactus
pear seeds was better in lowering the lipid
levels of hepatic tissues.

Serum and liver lipid profiles

In previous study we have demonstrated that
cactus pear seed oil was rich in oleic (C18:1)
and linoleic (C18:2) acids (16.7% and 70.3%
respectively), which representing 87% of the
total fatty acids (Table 4) (Ennouri et al. 2005).
The type of fat ingested in the diet could
provoked changes in the fatty composition of
tissues, which is why we have tried to study
the fatty acid composition of serum and liver
lipid extracts on rats after enrichment of diets
with CPO and CPS. The major fatty acids in
serum as well as on liver of all groups were
arachidonic, palmitic, linoleic, oleic, and stearic
acids (Table 5, Table 6). Netherless the fatty
acid analysis in liver showed that, in CPO
group the significant increase in oleic acid level
resulted in an increase of MUFA. A reduction
in linolenic acid in this group provoked a
significant decrease in PUFA. But in CPS
group, the level of stearic acid was increased
by 27%, while linolenic acid was decreased by
52%. The levels of docosahexaenoic,
docosatetraenoic, arachidonic and linoleic
acids representing 45% of total liver fatty acids;
were similar in CPO and CPS compared to
control group (Table 6). In the CPS group a
decrease by 8% of PUFA in serum and liver
was observed compared to control. Indeed, the
ratio of PUFA to SFA decreased significantly in
CPS group (Table 5, Table 6).
CPO and CPS diets contained the same
amount and quality of cactus pear seed oil. It is
known that oleic (C18:1) and linoleic (C18:2)
acids have beneficial health effects, including
alleviating
cardiovascular
complaints,
inflammatory conditions, heart diseases,
atherosclerosis,
autoimmune
disorder,
diabetes and other diseases (Hegsted,
McCrancy, Myers & Stare, 1965). Linoleic acid
is an essential fatty acid and a precursor of
arachidonic acid biosynthesis, the substrate for
eicosanoid synthesis. According to Keys,
Anderson and Grande (1957), linoleic acid has
hypocholesterolemic effects.

Conclusion
Our studies demonstrated for the first time that
the enrichment of diet with CPS had a very
pronounced hypolipidemic effect as compared
to the CPO diet. It could significantly decrease
the levels of triglycerides in serum and total

37

lipids in liver. There were no major variations

for the fatty acid composition of liver and
serum extracts. More studies are needed to
explain the potential hypocholesterolemic and

hypolipidemic effects of Opuntia ficus-indica

seeds and oil extract on hypercholesterolemic
and other pathologies on rats.

Table 1. Chemical composition of fed diets (g/100g d.m.)a

Ingredients

Control

CPO
x

CPS
x

Lipids

3.37 0.17

5.90 0.10

5.87 0.36y

Protein

15.23 1.35x

14.68 0.52x

11.95 1.12x

Ash

4.63 0.09x

4.50 0.15x

3.53 0.11x

Cellulosic polysaccharides

5.12 1.06x

5.20 0.09x

23.41 1.25y

Starch

11.75 1.86x

11.63 1.50x

8.30 1.32x

Each value is the mean of three observations standard error.

Figures having different letters (superscribed) in the same row are significantly different (P 0.05).

Table 2. Initial body weight, body weight gain and feed intake in control, CPO and CPS groups
a
after 9 weeks of treatment .
Parameters

Control

CPO
x

CPS
x

123.8 0.7x

Initial weight (g)

122.35 1.61

123.7 0.9

Average weight gain (g/rat)

143.3 31.2x

141.8 22.6x

93.7 15.5y

Average feed intake (g/day)

20.7 4.6x

18.6 1.5y

25.2 3.7z

a Each value is the mean of seven rats standard error.

Figures having different letters (superscribed) in the same row are significantly different (P 0.05).

Table 3. Lipid parameters in serum of rats in CPO, CPS and control groups.
Parameters

Control

CPO

CPS

Cholesterol (g/l)

0.66 0.03x

0.43 0.06y

0.76 0.03y

HDL cholesterol (g/l)

0.36 0.03x

0.35 0.08x

0.48 0.03y

HDL cholesterol /Total Cholesterol

(%)

0.55 0.06x

0.81 0.20y

0.64 0.02z

Triglycerides (g/l)

0.717 0.079x

1.384 0.182y

0.333 0.075z

Athero. Index*

0.822 0.204x

0.505 0.205y

0.564 0.071y

a Each value is the mean of seven rats standard error.

Figures having different letters (superscribed) in the same row are significantly different (P 0.05).
*Athero. index (atherogenic index)= (total cholesterol - HDLcholesterol)/ HDLcholesterol (Deguchi & Ogata,
1991).

38

Table 4. Fatty acid composition of prickly pear seed oil (g / 100 g of total fatty acid) (Ennouri et
al., 2005)
Fatty acid

Opuntia ficus indica

Lauric C12:0

Myristic C14:0

Palmitic C16:0

9.320.19

Palmitoleic C16:1

1.420.01

Stearic C18:0

3.110.04

Oleic C18:1

16.770.47

Linoleic C18:2

70.290.60

12.430.12

MFA

18.190.47

PFAe

70.290.60

SFA

a Each value is the mean of three observations standard error.

b Not detected.
c Saturated fatty acids.
d Monounsaturated fatty acids.
e Polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Table 5. Serum fatty acid composition of rats in CPO, CPS and control groups (g/100 g of total
a
fatty acid) .
Fatty acid
SFA

Control
32.0 5.75

CPO
x

CPS
x

32.440 0.878

34.891 0.236y

Myristic acid (C14:0)

0.45 0.00x

0.409 0.002y

0.501 0.049z

Palmitic acid (C16:0)

21.2 0.31x

19.98 0.84y

20.3 1.02y

Stearic acid (C18:0)

9.23 0.35x

11.04 0.01y

12.69 0.68z

18.67 0.7x

14.75 1.02y

16.67 2.46x

Palmitoleic acid (C16:1)

1.98 0.53x

0.7 0.50y

1.26 0.03y

Oleic acid (C18:1)

15.81 0.47x

13.49 0.71a

13.1 2.41

52.01 1.36x

52.7 2.35x

47.6 2.25y

Linoleic acid (C18:2)

24.02 1.23x

22.71 1.43y

17.18 0.45z

Linolenic acid (C18:3)

0.80 0.04x

0.73 0.01y

0.95 0.18z

Eicosatrienoic acid (C20:3)

0.26 0.01x

0.92 0.36y

0.71 0.17y

Arachidonic acid (C20:4)

23.771 0.86x

25.25 2.36x

25.72 2.99x

Eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5)

0.16 0.07x

0.16 0.07x

0.33 0.10x

Docosatetraenoic acid (C22:4)

0.71 0.02x

0.82 0.02y

0.77 0.03x

Docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6)

2.130 0.226x

1.109 0.516y

2.08 0.42z

1.613 0.027x

1.626 0.108x

1.36 0.05y

MUFA

PUFA

PUFA/SFA

a Each value is the mean of seven rats standard error.

Figures having different letters (superscribed) in the same row are significantly different (P 0.05).

39

Table 6. Liver fatty acids composition of rats in CPO, CPS and control groups (g/100 g of total
a
fatty acid) .
Fatty acid

Control

SFA

38.88 2.99

CPO
x

36.53 0.32

CPS
x

44.9 3.82z

Myristic acid (C14:0)

0.26 0.06x

0.51 0.05y

0.23 0.04x

Palmitic acid (C16:0)

18.93 0.64x

19.44 0.18x

20.66 1.69x

Stearic acid (C18:0)

18.0 2.64x

15.24 0.1y

22.90 2.09y

10.6 2.56x

15.0 0.46y

10.12 0.91x

Palmitoleic acid (C16:1)

0.77 0.14x

0.97 0.34x

0.72 0.07x

Oleic acid (C18:1)

8.62 2.60x

13.6 0.34y

7.74 1.26x

50.1 0.46x

48.18 0.47y

46.43 2.43y

Linoleic acid (C18:2)

17.51 1.70x

17.33 0.48x

14.43 1.69y

Linolenic acid (C18:3)

0.48 0.07x

0.25 0.17y

0.28 0.01y

Eicosatrienoic acid (C20:3)

0.34 0.11x

0.58 0.02y

0.42 0.03x

Arachidonic acid (C20:4)

23.42 1.04x

22.46 0.16x

24.0 2.15x

Eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5)

0.43 0.32x

0.06 0.05y

0.11 0.04x

Docosatetraenoic acid (C22:4)

1.29 0.1.21x

1.52 0.34x

1.15 1.06x

Docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6)

4.76 0.13x

4.11 0.54x

4.21 0.38x

1.29 0.08x

1.32 0.02x

1.04 0.14y

MUFA

PUFA

PUFA/SFA

a Each value is the mean of seven rats standard error.

Figures having different letters (superscribed) in the same row are significantly different (P 0.05).

Lipid content (mg/ml)

30
25

Control

CPO

***
(7)

20
15

**
(7)

CPS

(7)

10

Fig. 2. Effect of diet supplemented

with CPO or CPS on serum lipid
content (A) and liver lipid content
(B) compared to control.

5
0
Serum

Lipid content (mg/g)

200
160
120

Control

**
(7)

CPO
CPS

(7)

Values are given as means SEM.

Significant differences between the treated
and controls groups
***: P0.001 and **: P0.01 The number of
rats studied are shown between brackets.

***
(7)

80
40
0
liver

40

References
Barter,

P.J., Rye, K.A., 1996. High density

lipoproteins and coronary heart disease.
Atherosclerosis 121, 1-12.
Coskuner Y., & Tekin A., 2003. Monitoring of seed
composition of prickly pear (Opuntia ficusindica L) fruits during maturation period. J.
Sci. Food Agri. 83 (8), 846-849.
Davignon, J., and Cohn, J.S., 1996. Triglycerides: A
risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Atherosclerosis 124 (suppl), S57-S64.
Deguchi, Y, and Ogata, A., 1991. Relationship
between serum selenium concentration and
atherogenic index in Japanese adults.
Tohoku J. Exp. Med. 165, 24751.
Dubick, A.M., 1986. Historical perspectives on the
use of herbal preparations to promote health.
J. Nut. 116, 1348-1354.
Ennouri, M., Bourret, E., Mondolot, L., Attia, H.,
2005. Fatty acid composition and rheological
behaviour of prickly pear seed oils. Food
Chem. 93, 431-437.
Ennouri M., Fetoui H., Bourret E., Zeghal N., Attia
H. 2006a. Evaluation of some biological
parameters of Opuntia ficus-indica: 1Influence of oil supplemented diet on rats.
Biores. Techn. 97, 1382-1386.
Ennouri M., Fetoui H., Bourret E., Zeghal N.,
Guermazi F., Attia H. 2006b. Evaluation of
some biological parameters of Opuntia ficus
indica: 2-Influence of seed supplemented
diet on rats. Biores. Techn. 97, 2136-2140.
FAO/WHO, 1973. Energy and protein requirements.
FAO Nutritional Meeting Rept. Ser No 52,
WHO technical Rept. Ser No 522. Rome:
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
United Nations.
Habibi, Y., Mahrouz, M., & Vignon, M.R. 2002.
Isolation and structure of D-xylans from

pericarp seeds of Opuntia ficus-indica prickly

pear fruits. Carb. Res. 337, 1593-1598.
Hegsted, D.M., McCrancy, R.B., Myers, M.L., Stare,
F.M., 1965. Quantitative effects of dietary fat
on serum cholesterol in man. Am. J. Clin.
Nutr. 17, 281-295.
Hu, F.B., Mason, J.E., & Willet, W.C. 2001. Types of
dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease:
a critical review. J.Am. coll. Nut. 20, 5-19.
Keys, A., Anderson, J.T., Grande, F., 1957.
Prediction of serum cholesterol response of
man to change in fats in the diet. Lancet. 2,
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Salvo, F., Galati, E.M., Lo Curto S., Tripodo M.M.
2002. Study on the chemical characterization
of lipid composition of Opuntia ficus-indica L.
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Grasse, 79 (11), 395398.
Sawaya, W.N., & Khan, P. 1982. Chemical
characterization of prickly pear seed oil,
Opuntia ficus indica. J. Food Sci., 47, 20602061.
Sawaya, W.N., Khalil, J.K., Al-Mohammad, M.M.,
1983. Nutritive value of prickly pear seeds,
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Uchoa, A.F., Souza, P.A.S., Zarate, R.M.I., GomezFilho, E., & Campos, F.A.P., 1998. Isolation
and characterization of a reserve protein
from the seeds of Opuntia ficus-indica. Braz.
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P.M. 1995. Plasma cholesterol-predictive
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1129-1139.

41

Preventive Role of Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) Cladodes on the

Biochemical and Immunolgical Toxicity of Chlorpyrifos in Mice
Saida Ncibi1*, Dalel Brahim 1, Amira Akacha1, Mohamed Naceur Krifi 2, Sami Souid1
and Lazhar Zourgui1
(1) Unit de Recherche de Biochimie Macromolculaire et Gntique (BMG), Facult des
sciences de Gafsa, cit Zarroug 2112 Gafsa, Tunisie.
(2) Laboratoire dImmunobiotechnologie et de Biovalorisation, Institut Suprieur des
Technologies Mdicales de Tunis, 9 rue Prof. Zouhar Essafi, 1006 Tunis, Tunisie

Abstract
Extract of Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica)
cladode was given alone or simultaneously
with a toxic chlorpyrifos dose to Balb/c mice
and was evaluated for its ability to restore
damages induced by this organophosphorus
insecticide. The experimental approach
consisted of six treatments of six mice: one
group have received chlorpyrifos at 10 mg/kg
(bw) combined with extract of cactus cladodes
100 mg/kg (bw). Another group have received
chlorpyrifos at 150 mg/kg (bw) combined with
extract of cactus cladodes 1.5 g/kg (bw). Two
groups have received chlorpyrifos alone at 10
mg/kg and 150 mg/kg (bw) respectively. The
rest of groups are control groups, (water, and 5
g/kg bw of extract of cactus cladodes). Twenty
four hours after treatment, Liver damage was
evaluated by the liver weight and the measure
of some enzymes in serum. Immunotoxicity
was estimated by the count of stem cells in the
bone marrow and the weight of thymus. An
increase in enzyme levels and liver weight, a
decrease of the stem cells number in the bone
marrow and the thymus weight were noticed in
only chlorpyrifos treated animals compared
with the control animals. For groups treated
with chlorpyrifos and cactus, there was a
recovery in all parameters, so this extract
contains active components that reduce
damages caused by this insecticide.
Key words: cactus, chlorpyrifos, liver, thymus,
bone marrow

1. Introduction
Natural product and health foods have recently
received a lot of attention both by health
professionals and the common population for
improving overall well-being, as well as in the
prevention of diseases. Cactus (Opuntia) has
been used for many years as a common
vegetable and as medicine by the native
Americans and Mexicans (Cornett 2000, Kay

MA 1996; Knishinsky 1971; Tesoriere et al.

2004). Opuntia ficus-indica belongs to the
Cactaceae family, this plant grows wild in arid
and semi-arid regions, where the production of
more succulent food plants is severely limited.
Many uses of cladodes and cactus pear fruit
are reported (Hoffmann 1980). Cactus pear
contains pectin, carotenes, betalains, ascorbic
acid, quercetina and quercetin derivatives all of
which have antioxidant activity (Tesoriere
2004; Wang 1988; nanjing 1976). Cladodes
are consumed as fresh vegetables or added to
casseroles (Hamdi, 1997; Saenz 2000).
Cladodes have been investigated as possible
treatment
for
gastritis,
hyperglycemia,
arteriosclerosis,
diabetes
and
prostatic
hypertrophy (Frati, Jimenez & Ariza, 1990;
Hegwood, 1990; Palevitch, Earon & Levin,
1993).
Chlorpyrifos (C9H11Cl3NO3PS) is the main
element
of
many
organophosphorous
insecticides. In agriculture, these products are
widely used (Jacobsen et al. 2004). This use is
recognized as an economic approach to
control pests quality and quantity, but at the
same time it can be harmful for many species
after consumption of its residues in agricultural
products (Rastrelli et al. 2002; Colosio et al.
2005).This insecticide causes many damages
for human and animal health. Its effects on
nervous system are well known through the
inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme,
which
plays
an
important
role
in
neurotransmission at cholinergic synapses by
rapid
hydrolysis
of
neurotransmitter
acetyhlcholine in choline and acetate (Garcia
et al. 2005). However its immunotoxicity and
hepatotoxicity are not very explored.
Alanine
aminotransferase
(ALAT)
and
aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) are liver
specific enzymes. Measure of their activities is
usually carried out to check up the
hepatotoxicity of different chemical agents
(drugs, metals, pesticides). Both relative organ
weight of liver and increase in transaminase
42

and phosphatase alkaline (AkP) activities can

indicate tissue damage in this organ (Prati et
al. 2002). For the immunotoxicity, it can be
investigated by the count of stem cells in the
bone marrow and the relative weight of thymus
which are elements of the primary immune
system Galloway and Handy 2003).

and added to the granulated, mixed and

homogenized and made into pellets. After 3
weeks of treatment, blood samples were
collected from the retro orbital sinus in tubes
containing heparin as anti-coagulant in order to
determine enzymes activities in serum by
spectrophotometric techniques. All animals
were sacrified by cervical dislocation; thymus
and liver were dissected out to check their
relative organ weights (ROW). Also, the bone
marrow was aspirated from the femur to do the
count of stem cells.

In this study, our aims were twofold: (1): to

investigate changes induced by the CPF
administration to SWISS mice in serum
biochemical (ALAT, ASAT, and AkP), the
relative body weight of liver, number of stem
cells in bone marrow and the relative body
weight of thymus and (2) to evaluate the safety
and efficacy of cactus stem extract to
ameliorate the deleterious effects of this
insecticide.

All data were analysed statistically using

students t-test, statement of significance were
based on probability of p to 0.05.

2. Materials and methods

3. Results

2.1. Chemicals
Chlorpyrifos CPF was purchased as an
agricultural product used in our country
(Duracid) from STEC society. Marker enzymes
of liver damage, alkaline phosphatase (AkP),
alanine
aminotransferase
(ALAT)
and
aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) were
measured by standard kits provided by BioMagreb.

2.2. Animals
In this study, 36 male SWISS mices (SEXUAL,
St Doulchard, France) were used. Their weight
was about 25g and they were 4 to 5 weeks old.
Animals were housed in plastic cages, fed ad
libitum and allowed to adjust to the new
environment for 2 weeks time before starting
the experiment. Then, they were divided into 6
treatment groups, each of six mice as follow:
1. Mice given granulated chow and
drinking water ad libitum= control group
(Cont. G1)
2. Mice given CPF at 10mg/kg (bw) (G2)
3. Mice given 10mg/kg (b.w) CPF with
100mg/kg (b.w) cactus (G3)
4. Mice given 150 mg/kg (b.w) CPF (G4)
5. Mice given 150 mg/kg (b.w) CPF with
1.5 g/kg cactus (G5)
6. Mice given 5g/kg cactus (G6)
Group 6 was chosen to test the toxicity of
cactus through lethality of mice parameter.
Both CPF and cactus were dissolved in water

2.3. Statistical analysis

Concerning
lethality
essays,
LC50
of
chlorpyrifos was confirmed, it is about
150mg/kg bw. No death occurred in groups
treated with cactus alone or cactus with CPF
(groups 5 and 6) indicating that this natural
plant is not toxic (Viala 1980). As shown in
table 1, results of serum biochemical analysis
showed an increase of the biochemical
parameters of interest in groups treated only
with CPF (groups 2 and 4) compared to the
control group (group 1), which indicates a liver
damage. However, treatment by cactus
restores this increase in groups treated by CPF
and cactus (groups 3 and 5) in values similar
to normal. The relative liver weight increases in
CPF treated groups (groups 2 and 4)
compared to the control (group 1). This trend
was not seen in groups 3 and 5 (table 1),
which can confirm the CPF toxicity (Mahaboob
et al. 2005) and the protective role of cactus.
The immunotoxicity was investigated through
thymus and the bone marrow. The weight of
thymus diminished in group 2, in group 4, this
organ was totally deleted. However, it was
obvious that the thymus atrophy was
minimized in groups 3 and 5 (figure 1).
For the bone marrow, action of this insecticide
was noticed essentially in the group 4: the
number of stem cells of the group 4 animals
femur decreased compared with none treated.
This decrease is less important when cactus is
administrated (group 5) (figure 2). Thus, these
results confirm immunotoxicity of CPF (Blakely
et al. 1999) and allow us to say that cactus
stem extract is also reliable counter harmful
action of CPF.

43

Thymus
relative
weight in %
0,35
0,3
0,25
0,2

0,15
0,1
0,05

0
Groupe 1

Groupe 2

Groupe 3

Groupe 4

Groupe 5

Groups

Figure.1: Liver weight following chlorpyrifos exposures and the

protective role of cactus stem juice. Values are means from 6
mice. * Significantly different p0.05.
Stem cells number in million
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Groupe 1

Groupe 4

Groupe 5

Groups

Figure 2: Number of cells in the bone marrow following

chlorpyrifos exposures and the protective role of cactus
stem juice. Values are means from 6 mice. * Significantly
different p0.05.

4. Discussion
In the present study, both lethal LC50 and the
th
sub-lethal (1/10 of LC50: almost 10mg/kg)
concentrations were studied. For the LC50
treatment (group 4), mortality was observed
and touched half of animals, so we confirm
results found by other studies (McCollister et
al. 1995) With sub-lethal concentration, no
mortality was observed during the experiment
tenure. However, an increase in liver specific
enzymes was noticed. Elevation in these

transaminases indicates the utilisation of

amino acids for the oxidation or for
glucogenesis and is used to determine liver
damage (Philip et al.. 1995). Also, the
elevation in alkaline phosphatase suggests an
increase in the lysosomal mobilization and cell
necrosis due to pesticide toxicity. The result of
this study show increased activities of
transaminases and alkaline phosphatase in
serum which are conventional indicators of
liver injury (Rao 2006)]: when the liver cell
membrane is damaged, varieties of enzymes

44

normally located on the cytosol are released

into the blood stream. Also, the increase of
liver weight can be considered as an indicator
of liver damage (Amacher et al. 1998). So we
can conclude that this organophosphorus
insecticide causes liver damage in CPF treated
animals with control animals.
The same biochemical parameters tests
demonstrated the beneficial role of the cactus
stem extract addition, so this later was able to
protect
liver
against
CPF
damages.
Polyphenols and flavonoides are known by
their ability to increase formation and excretion
of detoxified metabolites resulting from
xenobiotic metabolism (Higdon and Frei 2003)
and thus they can protect liver. In this field,
cactus stem is recognised by its content on
flavonoides such as Quercetin, Taxifolin,
kaempferol.etc], to which the liver protective
role can be assigned.
Concerning immune system, the diminution of
stem cells number is a firm indicator of its
destruction (Miyan et al. 1998), since the bone
marrow is the principal source of different kind
of the immune cells. CPF at the LC50 causes a
decrease of these cells number, thus we can
say that this product gravely affects this very
essential system to survive. The magnificent
thing is that cactus restores this alteration even
for a light percentage (about 50%). As well as
the bone marrow, thymus can express the
immune system status (Jacobsen and al;
2004), according to our results, this organ is
more sensible to this product since it can be
affected even at the sub-lethal dose. Again,
cactus minimizes this atrophy. So we can
conclude that this plant is able to protect
thymus from CPF toxicity. According to Kim
J.D (Kim and al. 2006), this protection can be
attributed to flavonols which can modulate
immune response.
Acknowledgements. This research was
funded by the Tunisian Ministry of Scientific
Research and Technology through the
Research Unit of Macromolecular Biochemistry
and Genetics, Faculty of Sciences of Gafsa.

5. References
Amacher D.E, Schomaker S.J and Burkhardt J.E.
The Relationship Among Microsomal,
enzyme Induction, Liver Weight and
Histological Change in Rat Toxicology
Studies. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 36
9-10 (1998) 831-839
Blakely B.R, Yole M.J, Brousseau P, Boermans H,

Fournier M. Effect of chlorpyrifos on

immune function in rats. Vet Hum Toxicol.
3 (1999) 140-4.
Cornett J: How Indians used desert plants. Nature
trails Press; 2000.
Frati, A. C., Jimenez, E., & Ariza, C.R., 1990.
Hypoglycemic effect of Opuntia ficus-indica
in non insulin-dependent diabetes Mellitus
patients. Phytotherapy Reasearch, 4, 195197.
Hamdi, M., 1997. Prickly pear cladodes and fruits as
a potential raw material for the industries;
Bioprocess Engineering, 17, 387-391.
Hegwood, D.A., 1990. Human health discoveries
with Opuntia sp. (prickly pear). Horticultural
Science, 25,1515-1516
Higdon J.V and Frei B., 2003. Antioxidant activity of
tea
polyphenols:
Health
Effects,
Metabolism and Antioxidant functions.
Critical reviews in Food Science end
Nutrition. 43, 1, 89-143.
Hoffmann, W., 1990. The many uses of prickly pear
(Opuntia Mill.) in Peru and Mexico. Plant
Research Development, 12, 58-68.
Jacobsen H, stergaard G, Lam H.R, Poulsen M.E,
Frandsen H, Ladefoged O and Meyer O.,
2004. Repeated dose 28-day oral toxicity
study in Wistar rats with a mixture of five
pesticides often found as residues in food:
alphacypermethrin,
bromopropylate,
carbendazim, chlorpyrifos and mancozeb.
Food and Chemical Toxicology, 42, 8,
1269-1277.
Kay MA, 1996. Healing with plants in the America,
and Mexican west. The University of
Arizona Press.
Kim J.D, Liu L, Guo W and Meydani M., 2006.
Chemical structure of flavonols in relation
to modulation of angiogenesis and
immune-endothelial
cell
adhesion.The
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 17, 3,
165-176.
Knishinsky R, 1971. Prickly pear cactus medicine.
Healing Arts Press. Rochester, Vermont.
Mahaboob S.K, Sobtib R.C, Katariaa L., 2005.
Pesticide-induced alteration in mice
hepato-oxidative status and protective
effects of black tea extract. Clinica Chimica
Acta 358, 131138.
McCollister S.B, Kociba R.J, Humiston C.G,.
McCollister D.D and Gehring P.J., 1974.
Studies of the acute and long-term oral
toxicity of chlorpyrifos (o,o-diethyl-O-(3,5,6trichloro-2-pyridyl) phosphorothioate). Food
and Cosmetics Toxicology. 121, 45-61.
Miyan J.A, Broome C.S and Afan A.M., 1998.
Coordinated host defense through an
integration of the neural, immune and
haemopoietic systems. Domestic Animal
Endocrinology. 15, 5, 297-304.
Nanjing Pharmacologic College: Zhong Cao Yao
Xue Jiangsu People Press; 1976: 681-682.
Palevitch, D., Earon, G, & Lezvin, I., 1993.

45

treatment of beningn prodtatic hypertrophy

with Opuntia ficus-indica (L); Miller. Journal
Herbs Spices Medical Plants, 2, 45-49.
Philip G.H, Reddy P.M, Sridevi G., 1995.
Cypermethrin induced in vivo alterations in
the carbohydrate of freshwater fish Labeo
rohita. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 31,173178.
Rao J.V. Toxic effects of novel organophosphorus
insecticide (RPR-V) on certain biochemical
parameters of euryhaline fish, Oreochromis
mossambicus. Pesticide biochemistry and
physiology. In press, available on line 28
February 2006.
Saenz, C., Mecklenburg, P., Estevez, A. M., &
Sepulveda, E., 1996. Natural liquid
sweetener from cactus pear: obtention and

characterisitics. Acta Horticulture, 438,

135-138.
Tesoriere L, Butera D, Pintaudi M, Allegra M, Livera
MA, 2004; Supplementation with cactus
pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit decreases
oxidative stress in healthy humans: a
comparative study with Vit.C, Am J Clin
Nutr , 80, 391-395.
Toxicon, 47, 567-574.
Viala A. Dfinitions, domaines de la toxicologie,
notions sur la toxicit: in Elments de
toxicologie. Tec & Doc, Lavoisier, 11 rue
LavoisierF75384, Paris Cedex 08, Editions
mdicales internationales, Alle de la croixBosse.
Wang PZ: Chinese Medicine Surgery. Ancinet
Chinese Medicine Press: 1988, 164-183.

Table 1: Effect of cactus stem extract and its protective role against hepatotoxicity in male
SWISS mice treated at 10mg/kg (b.w) and 150 mg/kg (b.w) with CPF
CPF

CPF + cactus

Control

Cactus

(G1)

1.5g/kg

10mg/kg

150mg/kg

10mg/kg CPF

150mg/kg

(G6)

(G2)

(G4)

+ 100 mg/kg

CPF +1.5

cactus (G3)

g/kg cactus
(G5)

ALAT (UI/ml)

13713

13618

21017*

34917*

16013

23010*

12826

1255

23653*

47593*

23653

39143*

LDH (UI/l)

1644384

1703225

3156161*

3993123*

2293407

311640*

PAL (UI/l)

9614

1036

20649*

28328*

12110

19921*

ASAT (UI/ml)

Values are means (n=6)

* Significantly different from the control (G1) p0.05.

46

Cactus Pear: A Natural Product In Cancer Chemoprevention

Changping Zou
Associate Professor
Department of OB/Gyn, Gynecologic Oncology
University of Connecticut Health Center, USA
Email: zou@uchc.edu
Remarkable progress has been made over the
past two decades in cancer prevention and
chemoprevention as well as understanding the
molecular and cellular mechanisms of
carcinogenesis and cancer progression, as a
result, the incidences of certain types of cancer
have decreased significantly in US due to
prevention modalities and improved screening
technology. However, the incidence and
mortality rates of ovarian cancer have
remained essentially unchanged. Nonetheless,
the development of effective and safe agents
for prevention and treatment of cancer remains
slow, inefficient, and costly, with little to offer
the high-risk population for primary prevention
and cancer survivors to prevent cancer
recurrence.
The
key
to
effective
chemoprevention is the identification of a
chemopreventive agent(s) that can effectively
inhibit cancer development with little toxic side
effects.
Chemoprevention by using fruit and vegetables
as well as isolated compounds from food and
natural products has been carried out in recent
years in the United States. Medical benefits
from plants have been recognized for
centuries. Herbs have been used by Native
American and Chinese medicine for thousands
of years to cure diseases and heal wounds.
Also as a rule, herbs and natural products lack
much of the toxicity that is present in synthetic
chemicals thus, enhancing their appeal for long
term preventive strategies.
Cactus (Opuntia) has been used for many
years as a common vegetable and as medicine
by the Native Americans and Mexicans.
Cactus pear contains pectin, carotenes,
betalains, ascorbic acid, quercetina and
quercetin derivatives all of which have
antioxidant activity. In Chinese medicine,
cactus fruit is considered a weak poison and
used as a detoxification agent for snake bites,
it also in treatment of inflammation, pain. It has
been noted that Native Americans have a
lower cancer rate when compared to white and
African Americans, it might be in part by using
antioxidant dietary supplement such as cactus

pear and nopale.

We tested the ability of cactus pear fruit
mixture extract in suppressing carcinogenesis
in cultured human cancer cell lines in vitro and
an animal model in vivo. Our results show that
the cactus pear mix extract inhibited growth of
ovarian, bladder, and cervical cancer cells in
vitro and suppressed tumor growth in animal
inoculated with ovarian cancer cells. Cactus
products inhibited cancer cell growth with
concentrations as low as 5%; cell cycle was
also affected at this concentration with an
increase in G1 phase. Apoptosis was observed
at a higher concentration of 10% and 25%. We
also
compared
cactus
with
the
chemopreventive agent 4-HPR, a synthetic
retinoid, which is currently used in ovarian
cancer chemoprevention trials in US and Italy,
in animal model in vivo. Both cactus and 4HPR inhibited ovarian cancer growth. The anticarcinogenic properties of natural and
synthetic retinoids have been suggested to be
due, in part, to the antioxidant effect. Increased
consumption of fruit and vegetables is
associated with the prevention of various
human diseases, and the oxidative damage is
an important etiologic risk factor for many
diseases, including cancer and heart diseases,
the two with highest mortality rates in the US.
Cactus pear extracts contain multiple
antioxidants that can reduce oxidative damage.
Carcinogenesis may be viewed as a process of
progressive disorganization. This process is
characterized by the accumulation of genotypic
changes and corresponding tissue and cellular
abnormalities including loss of proliferation and
apoptosis controls. A dietary agent that can
increase anti-proliferation pathways and
change cell cycle in cancer cells without
toxicity would be a potential agent for
chemoprevention. Although the mechanism for
cactus pear extracts in cancer prevention is
unclear, our current study shows that cactus
pear does alter the expression of certain genes
related to cell growth and apoptosis. Cactus
pear extracts increased annexin IV and
decreased VEGF expression in animal tumors.

47

cancer incidence and mortality rate worldwide.

To develop the safe food-derived products
would be ideal for long-term use in normal or
high risk populations. Clinical trials with cactus
pear mixture extract tested in high risk
population are worth being developed by the
international collaboration. The potential
collaboration between Professor Jorge Souen
and Dr. Nise Yamaguchi, Gynecologic
Oncology and General Oncology group in
Brazil and Dr. Molly Brewer and Dr. Changping
Zou, Gynecologic Oncology group in University
of Connecticut Health Center, United States
will be initiated with the help from Cactus
Congress, Cactus Company in US, and local
universities and organizations in Brazil.

Annexin IV played a pivotal role in the early

phases of apoptosis. The ongoing study
showed that the cactus pear mixture extract
increased cancer cell reactive oxygen species
(ROS), which increased oxidative stress and
mediated gene expression. ROS is the key
regulating factor in apoptosis, which works
through inducing receptor activation, regulating
Caspase and Bcl-2 family, and mitochondrial
dysfunction. Cactus pear mixture extract has
potent anti-carcinogenesis effect and low
toxicity. This holds promise for new treatment
modalities in addition to prevention of ovarian
cancer.
The international collaborative effects are
needed for fighting with cancer to reduce

Cactus Mix Extract

ROS

e stress
Oxidativ

Bax

Membrane
damage

Mitochondria

Oxidative DNA
Damage

Nucleus DNA
Fragmentation
Cell cycle
arrest

Cytochrome-c
Caspase-9,10
Caspase 3

Necrosis

Apoptosis

48

Antioxidant activity of cactus pear fruits and bioavailability of

betalain components in healthy humans.
Maria A. Livrea
Dipartimento Farmacochimico Tossicologico e Biologico. Universit di Palermo.
Facolt di Farmacia. Via M.Cipolla 74. Palermo. Italy
Aerobic life is characterized by a steady
formation of prooxidants, including reactive
oxygen species and their products, that is
approximately balanced by endogenous
antioxidant defense systems. They include
specific enzymes and low molecular weight
molecules, much of which of dietary origin.
Unfortunately, the balance is not perfect so
that a certain degree of oxidative damage
occurs even in healthy persons.
When the generation of prooxidants greatly
exceeds the cells capacity to protect itself,
serious oxidative stress occurs, and the
accumulation of damage will result in pathophysiological events. Consumption of fruit and
vegetables is now associated with protection
against various pathologies, including cancer
and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular
diseases, in which oxidative damage is an
important etiologic factor. Various compounds
from plant food, acting independently of known
nutrients and micronutrients, have appeared
very important in protecting human health.
Most of these components can act as
antioxidants or affect redox-dependent cell
activities involved both in physiological and
pathological events. In this scenery vegetables
from the Mediterranean area, and in particular
the fruits of cactus pear, have recently
attracted the attention of researchers.
Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit
contains vitamin C and characteristic
phytochemicals, the redox activities of which
have been reported in various scientific
publications. We investigated the effects of a
short-term supplementation with cactus pear
fruit (500 g fruit pulp daily, for 2 wk), compared
with vitamin C alone, on the total body
oxidative status in healthy humans, in a
randomized, crossover, double-treatment study
(Tesoriere et al., 2004a).
Plasma measurements, before and after the
two-weeks trial, showed that consumption of
cactus pear fruit positively affects the bodys
redox balance, that is reduces the oxidative
stress, decreases oxidative damage to lipids,
and improves antioxidant status in healthy
humans. Supplementation with vitamin C at a
comparable
dosage
enhances
overall

antioxidant defense but does not significantly

affect body oxidative stress.
Among the fruit components, the characteristic
pigments betanin and indicaxanthin can be
considered as possible contributors to the
observed in vivo effects. The radicalscavenging and antioxidant activity of these
betalains has been shown in several chemical
and biological models in vitro and ex vivo,
including liposomes, human low density
lipoproteins, and red blood cells (RBC). In
addition, in experiments with cultured cells,
betalains were capable of affecting redoxdriven signal transduction pathways, involved
in the inflammatory response.
Absorption and bioavailability are major points
to characterize dietary components, and to
eventually suggest sites of action in the body.
Betalains are absorbed and are bioavailable
from various food sources. Our kinetic studies
with cactus pear fruits, in healthy humans,
showed peak plasma concentrations of the
micromolar order at 3 h, after a single ingestion
of 500 g cactus pear fruit pulp, which provided
28 and 16 mg indicaxanthin and betanin,
respectively.
The urinary disposal of indicaxanthin and
betanin over 12 h represented 76 % and 3.7
%, respectively, of the ingested compounds,
indicating that indicaxanthin is 20-times more
bioavailable than betanin (Tesoriere et al.,
2004b). When compared with bioavailability of
betanin from red beet juice (Kanner et al.,
2001), our results show that cactus pear fruit is
a good source of bioavailable betalains.
Knowledge of the body distribution may aid the
investigation of the eventual bioactivity of
absorbed dietary components. In our study we
also
researched
the
post-absorptive
distribution of indicaxanthin and betanin in
circulating LDL and in RBC, and evaluated the
susceptibility of the particles and cells isolated
at time intervals ranging from the time of
ingestion of fruit to the time of betalain
disposal, to the ex vivoinduced oxidation.
Both LDL and RBC incorporated betanin and
indicaxanthin time-dependently, in parallel with
their plasma concentration, and exhibited

49

enhanced resistance to an ex-vivo-induced

oxidation, the higher the amount of betalains
incorporated the higher the resistance
(Tesoriere et al., 2004b; Tesoriere et al.,
2005).

in LDLs: potential health effects of

betalains in humans. American Journal
Clinical Nutrition 80, 941-945.
Butera, D.; Tesoriere, L.; Di Gaudio, F.; Bongiorno,
A.; Allegra, M.; Pintaudi, A. M.; Kohen, R.;
Livrea, M. A., 2002, Antioxidant activities of
Sicilian prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica)
fruit extracts and reducing properties of its
betalains:
betanin
and
indicaxanthin. Journal of Agricultural and
Food Chemistry 50, 6895-6901.
Kanner, J.; Harel, S.; Granit, R. 2001, Betalains-A
New
Class
of
Dietary
Cationized
Antioxidants Journal of Agricultural and
Food Chemistry 49, 5178-85.
Tesoriere, L.; Butera, D.; Allegra, M.; Fazzari, M.;
Livrea, M. A., 2005, Distribution of betalain
pigments in red blood cells after
consumption of cactus pear fruits and
increased resistance of the cells to ex vivo
induced oxidative hemolysis in humans.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
53, 1266-1270.

On the overall, while suggesting major benefits

from diets including cactus pear fruits, to
reduce the risk of age-related and
degenerative diseases in which destruction of
finely tuned redox-regulated transduction
pathways may play a pathogenic role, our
findings open to new studies directed to
possible
applications
of
purified
fruit
components either as such, or as lead
compounds for novel therapeutics.
Tesoriere, L.; Butera, D.; Pintaudi, A. M.; Allegra,
M.; Livrea, M. A., 2004a. Supplementation
with cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit
decreases oxidative stress in healthy
humans: a comparative study with vitamin
C13. American Journal Clinical Nutrition,
80, 391395.
Tesoriere, L.; Allegra, M.; Butera, D.; Livrea, M. A.,
2004b.
Absorption,
excretion
and
distribution of dietary antioxidant betalains

For a review refer to: Maria A. Livrea and Luisa

Tesoriere, Health Benefits and Bioactive
Components of the Fruits from Opuntia ficusindica [L.] Mill. J. PACD, 2006, pag 73-90

FRUITS OF MAIN CULTIVARS OF CACTUS PEAR

FROM SICILY
Opuntia ficus indica, L Mill

sanguigna

RED FRUIT

surfarina

8 % OF PRODUCTION
CH2OH
O
H
O
H
OH H
OH
H
H
OH HO

YELLOW FRUIT

muscaredda WHITE FRUIT

90% OF PRODUCTION

+
N

2% OF PRODUCTION

+
N

COOH

COOH

The white fruit contains

almost exclusively
indicaxanthin

Betanin is mainly represented in the red

fruit where it is 66% of total betalains
Indicaxathin is 89% of betalains of the
yellow fruit, which exhibits the highest
amount of betalain pigments.

HOOC

Betanin

N
H

COOH

HOOC

N
H

COOH

Indicaxanthin

.... and betalain pigments

50

An Overview On Medicinal And Cosmetic Uses Of Cactus In

Morocco
Abderrahman Ait Hamou
ANADEC : Association Nationale de Dveloppement du Cactus. Kelaa Srghna Morocco.
Email: aithamou@hotmail.com

Introduction

cosmetic uses of cactus in Morocco.

Cactus known as prickly pear is a widely

represented crop in Moroccan landscape. In
the lack of precise assessment of cactus
national superficies, non-official but objective
reckoning talks about at least 120.000 ha (El
Yamani, 2004). In Morocco, cactus is planted
above all along roadsides and as fences, but
there are many regions were large orchards
ensure alternative income for rural population
particularly during frequent dry seasons. Pears
as fruit, and pads as forage, are the main uses
of cactus. During summer, the harvest season,
thousands of street vendors are shown in
different Moroccan cities. Cactus pear is
generally consumed fresh, however, in the
south, it may be sun dried and stored for later
use.

1. Methodology
The sources of information presented in this
paper are:
-

Bibliographical data: we selected

documents which are related to Moroccan
context

Our own field survey with: researchers,

herbalists, rural women, and a sample of
25 cactus street vendors and 31
consumers. After collecting information we
brushed aside declarations given by not
enough interviewees.

2. Results
2.1. Documented data
Cactus was introduced into morocco by the
XVIth century; so most documents referring to
this specie are relatively recent in comparison
with many other medicinal plants, as Aloe vera
for instance, which, by the way, is called
Assabr in Arabic, a word similar to Assobar,
the cactus Arabic name. This precision is
important because Assobar is used sometimes
to name the two species. Consequently, some
authors make confusion between virtues of
these succulent plants.

Figure 1. Geographical distribution of

cactus in morocco (Map showing high and
low cactus densities areas)
Pads and flowers are not consumed, but they
are used for some medicinal and cosmetic
purposes. In fact, there is a popular knowledge
recognizing medicinal prickly pear cactuss
properties.
In this paper we will present a general
overview of historic and current medicinal and

Many traditional medicine books include, more

or less detailed, chapters devoted to cactus
virtues. In general, the subject is treated by
presenting cactus as a semi-arid region crop
coming from Mexico. After pointing out main
chemical characteristics of fruit, pads and
flowers, treatable diseases/disorders are listed
and recommended posology is described
Thereby, the well-known Moroccan ethno
pharmacologist Bellakhdar (1997) reported
from different sources that cactus flower
contains
many
interesting
chemical
components:
carbohydrates,
mucilage,
potassium and calcium salts, and many
flavonoids (luteolin, kaempferol, Quercetin,

51

Cactus pads are reported to include alkaloids

and bases (Hordenin, caudicin, chlorine,
thyramin and mescaline). Sap is rich on
mucilage. Cactus pear contains vitamin C
(0.1%) polysaccharides, pentoses, hexoses,
and carotenoid pigments (Betaxantins and
betacyanins). While fruit and pads are poor on
proteins, fig seeds are reported to contain a
relatively high level of these nitrogenous
substances (16%). Seeds are also rich in fats
(17%) and amino acids. Many other authors
report prickly pear cactus richness on nutritious
components. We summarize, in table 1, the
main available published data.

Penduletin, Rutin,..).

According to several authors, different parts of

prickly pear cactus are useful to treat or
prevent many diseases.
Figure 2. Moroccan publication presenting
OFI as a medicinal plant

Table 1: Main chemical components of Prickly pear cactus

Main chemical characteristics
Fruit

Authors

Glucose, fructose, ascorbic acid, fats, tragacanth, sodium oxalat,

pigment, yeast (saccharomyces)

Zahouili (1997)

Glucose (%): pulp (35%) skin (21%)

Fructose (%) pulp (29%) - Protein (%): 5.1 - (pulp) 8.3 (skin)

El-Kossori et al. (1987)

Pads

Fiber,- Vitamins: A, C Minerals; Ca , K Amino acids -

Bellakhdar (1997)

Flowers

Ca (1,17 % DM); Mg (0,581); Na (1,482); K (2,46); Fe (0,039);

P(0,0998); Proteins (8,49); Carbohydrates (73,09) ; Fats (2,79) ;
Ash (10,48)

Boujenah (2005)

Seeds

Protein: 11.8 %

El-Kossori et al. (1987)

Seed oil

Fatty acids (%): C16:0 (11.9); C16:1 (0.6); C18:0 (3.7); C18:1
(21.3); C18:2 (61.1); C18:3 (0.3); C20:0 (0.3); C20:1 (0.2)

Personal observation

2.1.1. Fruit
Fresh pear is used to stop diarrhoeas and
intestinal colic (Boulous, 1983; Sijelmassi,
1996; Bellakhdar, 1997) astringent (Boulous,
1983) and anti-diabetic (Eddouks et al., 2004).
There is no detail about how a sugar-rich fruit
might be useful to prevent diabetes, but it
seems that this ability is due to the pulp fiber.
Some side-effects are however reported, they
are related to fig seeds which might cause
digestive disturbances such as constipation.

2.1.2. Flowers
Dried flower is mentioned among the
Moroccan exported products. It is the part of

the plant the most used to treat/prevent many

illnesses. Flower decoction is taken as diuretic
and antidiarrheic (Bellakhdar, 1997). According
to Boujenah (2005), flowers are used in
traditional medication especially against the
renal diseases, diabetes and constipation.
Boulos (1983) reported that infusion of dried
flower buds mixed with barley grains and
maize silks are sold by some drug market as
remedy for venereal illness, gonorrhoea and
syphilis. El Hilali (2003) quoted a list of
abdominal pains treated by using flower
powder. He named dyspepsia, stomachic,
stomach-aches, gastric ulcer, stomach ulcer,
colic, colitis, heartburn, and bowels. Zahouili
(1997), an herbalist, proposed a flower
macerate to use as an anticramp. Flower
52

powder is a good remedy to urine retention

Figure 3. Cactus dried flowers

cactus fruit as it is testified by thousands of

vendors overrunning streets in urban centres.
In Casablanca during harvest season the
vegetables and fruits central market reserve
many stalls where are received trucks coming
from far away with large quantities of figs.
According to our survey with a sample of those
vendors, a great part of their clients are greedy
consumers because they believe that cactus
pear is very beneficial for health. We were
interested to know what kind of people are
their main clients. Our results, shown in table
2, indicate that most of consumers are over 40
years old, as thought 44 % of interviewed
street vendors.

Diabetes is again treated or prevented with

flower powder (Jouad et al., 2001; Tahraoui et
al., 2006).

2.1.3. Pads (cladodes)

In general, cladodes are used in external
applications for their nutrient and protective
effects: Spineless pad is cut in 2 slices, internal
face applied face-on the skin (Bellakhdar,
1997). This treatment is used in several cases:
Sprain, swelling, haematoma, stemma,
contusion, arthritis, lameness, rheumatism,
anti-inflammatory, muscular inflammatory,
myalgia, sciatic, eczema... Boulos (1983) has
also reported cladodes usage as emollient and
in cataplasm.
Cladodes sap of Opuntia megacantha is taken,
at a rate of a spoonful every morning to treat
whooping-cough, and inflammation of the
throat, oesophagus, stomach and intestines
(Bellakhdar, 1997) and pancreas diseases
(Zahouili, 1997)

2.1.4. Cactus cosmetic proprieties

Available data on cactus uses as cosmetic are
limited to general information rather than
results coming from true investigations:
crushed cladodes are known to be used as
shampoo and recommended as a hair-loss
preventive. Cactus sap and seed oil are used
as a screen to prevent sun burns.

3. Results of Survey on cactus

medicinal and cosmetic uses:
Our survey results are agreed with most of
information reported previously and generate
new knowledge on cactus proprieties.

Figure 4. Figs street vendors in Casablanca

Responding to our question how often and
why they eat cactus fruit?, a sample of
consumers answered as summarized in table
3. It is important to note that more than 38 % of
people interviewed prefer the fruit for health
considerations.
The logical next question was, how did they
know that cactus fruit would be useful for their
health?. We understand then that their sources
of
information
are
different:
medias,
neighbourhood, friends.
In southern of morocco, figs are sun-dried and
used as remedy for stomach ulcer.
Table 2. Clients distribution according to
age groups
Age ranks
More
important

Under 20 20 to 40
3 (12%)

Over 40

6 (24%) 11 (44%)

Equal

5 (20%)

Total

25 (100%)

3.1. Cactus fruit

Moroccan people are traditional consumers of

53

Table 3. Reasons for consuming cactus fig

Reasons

Low cost

12.90

Sweet taste

15

48.39

Treat
or/and
Prevent

Digestive
troubles

19.35

Diabetes

16.13

Cholesterol

03.23

31

100

Total

3.2. Cactus flower

Six of ten herbalist shops we visited sell dried
cactus flowers. They are mainly used in two
situations: urine retention and kidney pains.
In the first case whole flowers are infused in
boiled water. The filtrate is cooled down and
drunk. Generally the result is satisfactory in
few hours.

Figure 5. Cactus dried flowers in an

herbalist shop

On the other hand, kidney stone pains are

treated by infusion made with a powder
including dried cactus flower and other
medicinal plants (lavender, and hairy
rupturewort). The treatment may last several
days before stone fragments pass in the urine.
According to many herbalists, asthma is also
successfully treated by a medicinal recipe
including: honey and cactus dried flower and
jujube powders.
In Rehamna region (centre of Morocco), it is
very known that sheep farmers use cactus
flowers to treat rams suffering from urine
retention. This is one of the rare cases where
cactus is used in traditional veterinary phytotherapy.

3.3. Pads (cladodes)

Fresh cladodes are used both in medicinal and
cosmetic purposes.
Our rural survey results had led us to identify
many cases where cactus pad are used. They
are as follows:
-

Child cough: cladode sap is taken as

syrup.
Constipation.
Fractures (bones)
Inflammations: eyes, bee and wasp
stings, Pain: articulation, muscles
(cataplasme)

Figure 6. Nopalitos or young pads:

removing spines before use as shampoo.
In Rabat, an aesthetician advisor recommends
pads mucilage to treat feet fissures and skin
crevasses
(Khal,
2007;
personnel
communication)
In the past, young pads (nopalitos) were used,
mainly by rural people, as shampoo not only
for their low cost but also for their
advantageous effect on hair health.

3.4. Seeds oil

In the urban centres, women recognize the
anti-wrinkles effects of the prickly pear seeds
oil. But this product is considered too
expensive for local use (1000 to 1400 euros a
litre). As for argan, a woman cooperative
manufacture some cosmetic products (soap,
cream) by adding few seeds oil drops.

54

Mohamed Ben Abdellah- Fes, INPAM

Taounat), Medicinal (INRA - Rabat, University
of Moulay Ismael Errachidia). Moroccan
researchers are looking for cooperation with
their counterparts of different nationalities.

Figure 7. Prickly pear seeds oil: a worthy

product

5. References

4. Conclusions and Future

Perspectives
This overview shows that there is a large
traditional knowledge about cactus medicinal
and cosmetic proprieties. A wide field is then
open to research and development. This need
is becoming ever more impressing because
Morocco has to cope with a natural challenge
(frequent drought) and cactus is viewed as one
of the tools that can help to fight desertification.
Thousands of hectares are yearly planted with
cactus therefore a medicinal and cosmetic
technology will generate additional revenue for
rural population.
Despite their high medicinal value due notably
to fiber, cladodes are not part of food-habits of
Moroccans. But in last years, there are some
attempts to introduce this food to people by
various ways:
- Cactus industrial processing:

Pickled cladodes manufactured in Tiznit

(south of morocco) by Aknary women
cooperative.

Cladode powder: cactus is dried naturally

by sun (Agadir) or advanced technology
(Safi)
information

- Diffusion
proprieties:

of

Medias:
internet

TV

Meetings and publications (books, films...)

programs,

about

I used to be invited to attend seminars on

aromatic and medicinal plants, cactus is often
disregarded or referred to by few participants.
Yet, as the plant has several medicinal
properties, I propose to adopt Cactotherapy
as a new word to differentiate this fantastical
cactus herbal medicine.

cactus

newspapers,

In November 2005, Moroccan cactus research

was honoured. During a national event, Dra
Nazareno have been in Morocco. She
presented some results of her work on cactus
pear as a functional food. At the same day a
National Researchers Net was founded.
Currently, many researchers are carrying out
different investigations: Cosmetic (Univesity of

Bellakhdar, J., 1997. La pharmacope marocaine

traditionnelle: Mdecine arabe ancienne et
savoirs populaires. Ibis Press, 764 p
Boujenah, 2005. La Composition et valorisation des
fleurs du cactus ( DR.Boujnah, INRA)
Meeting on cactus Kelaa - Morocco
Boulos, L., 1983. Medicinal plants of North Africa.
Reference Publications, Inc., 218 St. Clair
River Drive, Box 344, Algonac, Michigan
48001, 286 p.,
El-Hilaly Jaouad, M. Hmammouchi and Badia
Lyoussi, 2003. Ethnobotanical studies and
economic evaluation of medicinal plants in
Taounate province (Northern Morocco).
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 86,
pp. 149-158
El Yamani, 2004: Troisime Journe Nationale sur
le Cactus Ben Guerir- Maroc archives
ANADEC

Jouad, H., M. Haloui, H.Rhiouani, J.ElHilaly & M. Eddouks, 2001. Ethnobotanical

survey of medicinal plants used for the
treatment of diabetes, cardiac and renal
diseases in the North centre of Morocco
(Fez-Boulemane).
Journal
of
Etnopharmacology, 77, 175 182.
Sijelmassi, A., 1996. Les plantes mdicinales du
Maroc. 4me dition. Edition le Fennec.
Casablanca, Maroc.
Tahraoui, A., J., El-Hilaly, Z.H. Israili, B. Lyoussi
(2006): Ethnopharmacological survey of
plants used in the traditional treatment of
hypertension and diabetes in south-eastern
Moroco (Errachidia province). Journal of
Etnopharmacology.
Zahouili .M (1997), (in arabic) Phytothrapie naturelle
au Maroc Dar Annachr Casablanca
Maroc pp.232

6. Useful links in Morocco

Ministry of Agriculture (Ministre de
lAgriculture : www.madrep.gov.ma)
Faculties and Institutes:

55

INRA : Institut National de la

Recherche Agronomique :
www.inra.org.ma
INPAM : Institut National des Plantes
Aromatiques et Mdicinales :
www.inpma.ac.ma
CNRST : Centre National pour la
Recherche Scientifique et Technique :
www.cnr.ac.ma
Facult des Sciences et Techniques
de Settat :
www.uh1.ac.ma/etablissement/fsts/

Figure 8a. Pickled pads

Facult des Sciences et Techniques

d'Errachidia : http://www.fste.ac.ma/
Facult des Sciences et Techniques
Fes : www.fst-usmba.ac.ma
Non Goveremental Organistations :
Aknary Women Cooperative: Tiznit
email : coopaknari@yahoo.fr
ANADEC: Association Nationale de
Cactus: www.anadec.africa-web.org
Portail de lagriculture :
http://moroccontact.com/

Figure 8b. Cactus industrial

processing (SAFI Morocco)

Figure 8c. Culinary book: a way

to improve cactus consumption

56

Inhibition Of Iron Corrosion Using Opuntia Ficus Indica Extract

Hind Hammouch1, Laila Bennghmouch3, Abdellah Srhiri1, Najat Hajjaji2.
1

Electrochemical laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Kenitra.

Organic reactivity laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Kenitra
3
Biochemical laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Rabat
Email : hamhind@yahoo.fr

Abstract
Opuntia ficus indica (prickly pear cactus) is a
highly productive plant?and it is cultivated as a
food source for both human and animals. Also
cactus has important ecological roles in
combating land degradation, and it is adopted
and integrated in the agricultural production
system of arid and semi arid zones. This work
aims at developing an environmentally friendly
corrosion inhibitors where the aqueous extract
of Opuntia stem is used. The inhibitive action
of the Opuntia extract, toward corrosion of iron
in 3% sodium chloride is tested using
polarisation technique and electrochemical
impedance
measurement.
The
extract
examined performed important inhibitor
efficiency (82-86%).
Keywords: iron, corrosion inhibition, Opuntia
extract

Introduction
Corrosion is defined as the destruction or
deterioration of metals by chemical means in
environments to which they are exposed
(Fontana, 1987). Corrosion causes enormous
damages and economic losses. Corrosion
inhibitors reduce or prevent these reactions,
they are adsorbed on the metal surface, and
act by forming a barrier to oxygen diffusion and
reducing the reaction with moisture. This
inhibition effect may take place with adsorption
phenomenon on metal surface and ion
complex formation. Some of the inhibitors
facilitate the formation of a passivating film on
the metal surface (Quraishi et al., 2002).
Many of the available corrosion inhibitors are
highly toxic, pollute environment, and some of
them are suspected as cancer causing agents.
All these facts call for the research on cheap
and
environmentally
friendly
corrosion
inhibitors.
There are only few trials investigating the use
of natural products as corrosion inhibitors
(Awad, 1985; Bouyanzer and Hammouti,
2004). In this respect the corrosion inhibition

action of a natural extract from Opuntia stems

was studied toward corrosion of iron in 3%
chloride sodium solution, using polarisation
technique and electrochemical impedance
measurement
The
Opuntia
extract
contains
mainly
polysaccharides, mucilage which contains
residues of D-galactose, D-xylose, Larabinose, L-rhamnose and D-galacturonic
acid (Mc Garvie, 1979; Trachtenberg and
Mayer, 1981). This composition leads us to
test them to protect metals in corrosion media.

Materials and method

Stems of Opuntia were washed thoroughly,
and divided into small pieces, and then it was
grinded. The extract presents a high viscosity,
it was diluted with distilled water, in order to
facilitate the filtration of the extract and obtain
a clear solution, which was used directly in the
experiments.
The iron studied had an elemental composition
(percentage composition by weight: 0.11% C,
0.22% Si, 0.45% Mn, 0.046% Cr, 0.054%Ni,
0.01% Mo, 0.015% V, 0.0005% Nb, 0.014% Ti,
0.0003% Al, 0.002% Pb, 0.056% Cu.).
The iron working electrode had a cross section
of 0.78 cm2, the surface was polished, washed
thoroughly with distilled water and dried with
hot air.
The silver electrode (Ag-AgCl) was used as the
reference one, and counter electrode was of
platinum. The electrolyte was an aqueous
solution of 3% NaCl prepared by dissolving a
NaCl PROLABO in bidistilled water. All
experiments were carried out in open-air at
room temperature.
Electrochemical measurements were carried
out after immersion of the working electrode in
3% NaCl for 30 min at the open circuit potential
(Ecorr).
The potentiodynamic curves were carried out
using EG&G M352 Potentiostat, and
impedance measurement were taken with

57

EG&G M6310 Potentiostat, in the frequency

domain from 65 KHz to 10 MHz.

Results and discussion

The percentage of Inhibition efficiency against

corrosion (E%) was calculated using the
following equation (Shriri et al., 1992-1995):

Potentiodynamic Measurements
Figure 1 represents (a) anodic and (b) cathodic
polarization curves of iron in 3% NaCl solution
containing different concentration of Opuntia
extract. The curves were plotted after
immersion for 30 min in solution at the
corrosion potential and under constant
agitation.

E% = (1- i corrin / i corrun) 100

Where icorrun is the corrosion current density
without the inhibitor, and icorrin is the corrosion
current density in the presence of the Opuntia
extract.

Corrosion parameters such as corrosion

current density (Icorr), corrosion potential (Ecorr)
and E % are given in Table 1. The Icorr value
decreases significantly in the presence of the
Opuntia extract, indicating that the extract is an
effective corrosion inhibitor. The E% increases
as the extract concentration increases: 59%
(8%), 82% (16%).

icorrun was determined by Tafel plot

extrapolation to Ecorr, correcting the diffusion
current (i) according to the relation (Shriri et al.,
1992-1995):
1 / i = 1 / i* + 1 / iL [11-12]
where iL is the measured limiting diffusion
current, i is the measured current and i* is the
corrected current.

0,1

1E-3
0,01

1E-5

1E-6

1E-7
-0,80

I(A/Cm2)

I(A/Cm2)

1E-4

(0% inh)
(6% inh)
(8% inh)
(12% inh)
(16% inh)
-0,75

-0,70

1E-3

(0%inh)
(6%inh)
(8%inh)
(12%inh)
(16%inh)

1E-4

1E-5

1E-6

-0,65

-0,60

-0,55

-0,50

-0,60

-0,45

-0,55

-0,50

-0,45

-0,40

-0,35

-0,30

-0,25

-0,20

-0,15

E(V/Ag/AgCl)

E(V/Ag/AgCl)

Figure 1. Polarization curves (a/left) anodic, (b/right) cathodic, of iron in 3% NaCl containing
different concentration of Opuntia extract.

Table 1. Electrochemical parameters of iron corrosion in free and inhibited 3% NaCl solutions

NaCl %

-Ecorr
mV /Ag-AgCl

Icorr
A/Cm2

-bc
mV/dcade

566

176

42

507

72.4

76

59

538

49

79

72

12

509

40.7

79

77

16

551

31.4

70

82

E
%

58

concentration), in the high frequency (HF)

range, the characteristic frequency fc, at the
maximum of the imaginary part is very high (
258Hz), and the low value of CHF = 8.2F,
suggest that this HF loop is associated with the
effect of a relative compact and thick inhibitor
film. Inhibition efficiency calculated using
values of Rp is about 86% for inhibitor
concentration of 16%, this value is in good
agreement with that determined from
potentiodynamic measurements. Intermediate
frequency loop and low frequency loop were
attributed to faradic process (charge transfer
process, mass transport) through a film default.

Electrochemical Impedance
Measurements
Impedance diagrams obtained for the
frequency range 10 mHz-65 KHz at Ecorr for
iron in 3% NaCl, are shown in figure 2.
Figure 2 (a) represents impedance diagram
shape obtained for the iron in 3% sodium
chloride interface in the absence of the
inhibitor.
Two capacitive loops appear. In the context of
detailed study published elsewhere (Bonnel et
al., 1983), the high frequency (HF) capacitive
loop is attributed to a charge transfer process,
while that observed at low frequency (LF) is
interpreted in terms of the mass transport
which is occurring at the same time in the
liquid and solid phase through the layer of
corrosion products formed (Srhiri, 1985).

In order to visual the effect of the Opuntia

extract on iron electrode surface, figure 3
represents photographies of iron surface (2
cm2) in 3% sodium chloride containing different
concentrations of inhibitor after 6 hours of
immersion time.

The impedance diagrams shown in figure 2 (b),

(c), (d) and (e) are those obtained for the iron
in 3% NaCl solution containing different
concentration of Opuntia extract.

Photography 1 represents a reference surface

of iron, before immersion in 3% sodium
chloride.
Photography 2 represents iron surface
electrode after 6 hours of immersion in 3%
sodium chloride without inhibitor, deterioration
and damage on iron surface is notable caused
by a corrosive medium.

The intersection with the real axis of the

extrapolated part at zero frequency gives the
value (Rp +RE), where Rp is the polarisation
resistance and RE is the resistance of the
electrolyte.

Photography 3 represents the iron surface in

3% NaCl containing 6% of Opuntia extract.
Addition of inhibitor decreases damage on iron
surface.
The addition of Opuntia extract
decreases markedly surface deterioration in
comparison with a iron surface damaged in
absence of the inhibitor.

Values of the capacitance C are calculated

using the relation C = (2 Fc R)-1(R
representing the diameter of different loops)
(Dabosi, 1991).
Effect of added Opuntia
capacitive loops appear:

extract:

High frequency ( HF) loop

Intermediate frequency (MF) loop

Low frequency (LF) loop.

three

Deterioration decrease is also observed as the

extract concentration is increased (photos 4
and 5)

For example figure 2 (d), (12% of inhibitor

1

Reference surface

Iron surface in 3%
NaCl after 6 h of
immersion

3% NaCl
containing 6% of
inhibitor after 6 h
of immersion

3% NaCl
containing 12% of
inhibitor after 6 h
of immersion

3% NaCl
containing 16% of
inhibitor after 6h
of immersion

59

Impedance diagram

100

NaCl 3%

90
80

-Im(ohm cm )

70
60
50
40
30

0.1Hz

1 Hz

20

0.01Hz

10
0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100 110 120 130 140 150

2

Re(ohm cm )

Figure 2 (a)

Figure 2 (b)

200

8% inh

180
160

-Im(ohm cm )

140
120
100

0.01Hz

80
60

0.1Hz

40

1Hz

20
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

Re(ohm cm2)

Figure 2 (c )

Figure 2 (d)

240

16% inh

220
200

160

-Im(ohm cm )

180

140
120

0.01Hz

100

1Hz

80

0.1Hz

10Hz

60
40
20
0
0

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360
2

Re(ohm cm )

Figure 2: Impedance diagrams of iron in free

and inhibited (Opuntia extract) 3% NaCl
solution

Figure 2 (e)

Conclusion
The Opuntia extract is a good inhibitor for
corrosion of iron in 3% chloride sodium
solution. The results show an important
inhibition efficiency about 86%. The inhibitive
action increases with increasing extract
concentration. This action is probably
performed via adsorption of the extracts
compounds on iron surface.

References
Fontana,

M.G.,

1987.

Corrosion

Engineering,

McGraw-Hill International, New York, p.4

Quraishi, M.A., Bhardwaj.V, and Rawat. J.; 2002.
JAOCS, 79,(6) : 603-609
Awad, G.H; 1985. Proceedings of the 6th European
Symposium
on
Corrosion
Inhibitors
Ann.Univ.Acier douxrara , N.S.sez V,
suppl.N.8, 385-395
Ranscher, A., Kutsan, G., Bandula, R. and Szailer,
T.; 2000. Proceedings of the 9th European
Symposium on Corrosion Inhibitors Ann.
Univ. Acier douxrara , N.S.sez.V suppl N
11 , 105-113
Greche, H.; 1999. Thse de Doctorat de 3 me
cycle, Facult des sciences Knitra
El.Etre, A.Y.; 2003. Corrosion Science 45, 24852495
Bouyanzer A. and Hammouti B.; 2004. Third
National meeting on Electrochemistry,

60

Abstract collection:31
Mc Garvie, D. et Parolis, H. ; 1979. Carbohydrate
Research 69(1) : 171-179.
Mc Garvie, D. et Parolis, H. ; 1981. Carbohydrate
Research 88(2) : 305-314.
Trachtenberg,
S.
et
Mayer ,
A. ;
1981.
Phytochemistry, 20(12) :2665-2668 .
Srhiri A., Derbali, Y. and Picaud, T.; 1995. Corrosion
Science, 51(10) :788-796

Srhiri, A. Etman, M. and Dabosi, F.; 1992.

Werkstoffe und Korrosion, 43: 406-414
Bonnel, A., Dabosi, F. Deslouis, C., Duprat, M.,
Keddam, M. and Tribollet, B.; 1983. J.
Electrochem. Soc. 130 : 753
Srhiri, A. ; 1985. Thse de Doctorat Institut National
Polytechnique de Toulouse.
Dabosi, F. et al.; 1991. Journal of Applied
Electrochemistry 21: 255-260.

61

Network News
The most salient event of the year was the
organization of the The VI International Congress on
Cactus Pear and Cochineal and the VI General
Meeting of the International Committee of the
International Technical Cooperation Network on
Cactus (FAO-CACTUSNET) held in Joo Pessoa
Brazil, from October 22nd to 26th, 2007.
Five partners took part in the organization of the
congress: Federao da Agricultura e Pecuria da
Paraba (FAEPA), Universidade Federal da Paraba
(UFPB), Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO), Technical Cooperation
Network on Cactus Pear (CACTUSNET), and
International Society for Horticultural Science
(ISHS).
The event gathered 533 participants among
producers, students and national and international
researchers. The Congress also counted with the
presence of national and international institutions of
great importance in the area, such as the INSA,
ICARDA and FAO.
The Scientific Program, under the congress theme Production of Cactus Pear and other cactus in
the different ecosystems in the world: challenges and technological progress, was presented in 10
Sessions, with 34 lectures and more than 230 papers presented as poster.
All abstracts were published in a cd-rom that was distributed to all participants of the congress.The
program was enriched by the participation of invited speakers of great importance and large
experience in the area.
A field visit to the cities of Juazeirinho and Tapero happened on the last day of the event (October,
26th). More than 200 people participated to the visit and were able to see by themselves all the
potential, advantages and threats of the cactus pear crop.
The Exhibition area was also very important for the event. It was an opportunity for 36 exhibitors
(companies, institutions, researchers, artisans) from different places of Paraba and region, to show
their work and products, always valuing the state and countries culture.
We believe that the objectives of the Congress were reached with success. The access to the most
recent advances in the area and the exchange of scientific results were promoted, many partnerships
were made, as well as future projects to the development of the culture of Cactus in Brazil.
The VI General Meeting of the FAO-CACTUSNET was the occasion to discuss the venue of the VIIth
International Cactus Congress, and to review the composition of the International Committee of the
network. Three countries were candidates to host the next congress, namely Italy, India, and Morocco.
After a long discussion, it was decided that the VII international Congress on Cactus and the VII
General Meeting of Cactus network will be held in India. The review of the international committee of
the network has led to the following modifications: (i) deletion of the working group on socioeconomics and the introduction of a new group dealing with medicinal uses of cactus that will be
leaded by Dra Monica Nazareno from the University of Santiago del Estero, Argentina; (ii) the
replacement of the former coordinator of the working group on pitayas and pitahays by Dr. Noemi
Judith Tel-Zur from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. The other important decisions of the
network are related to the reinforcement of network activities and to the need to formalize countries
focal points in order to rely more on them for network activities. Participants welcomed and
recommended for both FAO and ICARDA to join their efforts to improve the network efficiency and to
ensure its sustainability. Thus, in the future the network will be FAO-ICARDA Cactusnet. On the
other hand intitiative will be taken by FAO and the network to identify and formalize countries focal
points. Research and development institutions will be approached to have countries suggestions.

62

Group picture of participants to the VIth International Congress on Cactus, Joo Pessoa Brazil, October 22nd to 26th, 2007

63

Welcome to Monica and Noemi

Dr. Monica Nazareno, Coordinator of CACTUSNET Working Group on Medicinal uses of cactus
pear
Born in La Rioja, Argentina, August 22nd, 1968. Graduated from the
National University of Cordoba, Crdoba, Argentina, as Chemical
Licentiate (1990), she obtained her Ph. D. in Chemical Sciences in 1995 at
the same institution. From 1997 she has been working as Assistant
Professor at the National University of Santiago del Estero teaching
Organic Chemistry to Chemistry and Agronomy students. She is currently
Director of the Chemical Sciences Institute of the Faculty of Agronomy and
Agroindustries. She has done her postdoctoral activities at the University
of Liverpool, United Kingdom. Monica is Researcher at the National
Research Council of Argentina (CONICET). She had several research
stays at UNICAMP (Campinas, Brazil), University of Chile (Santiago,
Chile), Poly-technique University of Madrid (Madrid, Spain).
She is author of several scientific papers related to antioxidant activity and communications to national
and international congresses. She coordinates national research projects. She has supervised several
graduated and undergraduated thesis related to natural bioactive substances. Her main research topics
are related to natural pigments, antioxidant substances and free radical mediated reactions.
Institute of Chemical Sciences. Faculty of Agronomy and Agroindustries.
Nacional University of Santiago del Estero. Av. Belgrano (S) 1912. Santiago del Estero. Argentina.
Tel: 0385-4509528. nazareno@unse.edu.ar; manazar2004@yahoo.com.

Welcome to Dr Noemi Judith Tel-Zur, New coordinator of Pitayas and Pitahayas Working Group
Born on 16 February 1965 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr Noemi Tel-Zur
immigrated to Israel at the age of 20. She graduated in 1988 from The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, faculty of Agriculture and completed her M.Sc. at the
same university in 1992. In 2001, Noemi obtained her Ph.D. from Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev (BGU), Department of Life Sciences on Genetic
relationships between vine-cacti of the genera Hylocereus and Selenicereus.
Her first post-doc fellowship was supported by UCLA-BGU Program of Academic
Cooperation. Her second post-doc period was spent at the Department of
Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Currently, Noemi is a lecturer at
The Albert Katz Department of Dryland Biotechnologies, The Blaustein Institutes
for Desert Research, Sede Boqer Campus, BGU.
Her research areas are Plant Cytogenetics and Plant Reproduction with special focus in exotic fruit crops.
Noemi is the recipient of and number of awards: the Pasternak Prize for Agricultural Research (2006), award
for Ph.D. (Future Leadership Program for Fruit Crops in Israel, 1998-2000), and Molcho Center Scholarships
(1997-1998). She is author of many publications in prestigious international journals.

64

New subscribers
CACTUSNET NEWSLETTER
FAO-ICARDA INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL COOPERATION
NETWORK ON CACTUS

Biodata sheet
Dear subscribers
We are updating our mailing list. Please fill out this page and return it by fax or email so that
you continue receiving the news, and those we have accurately recorded your name and
address. If you have any colleagues interested in receiving CACTUSNET NEWSLETTER,
pass on a copy or send in their address to:

CACTUSNET NEWSLETTER
C/O Ali Nefzaoui, General Coordinator
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Rue des Oliviers, 1. El Menzah V. 2037 Tunis, Tunisia
Phone: (++216)71752134/71752099
Fax : (++216)71753170
Cellular : (++216)22347149
Email: ali.nefzaoui@icarda.org.tn; a.nefzaoui@cgiar.org

Name (first, last)

Address
Tel

Fax

Email

Please include brief description of your recent current research related to cactus. We also
welcome comments, stories, abstracts of your work, job or meeting announcements,
requests, etc.

65

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF FAO-ICARDA INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL

COOPERATION NETWORK ON CACTUS (FAO-ICARDA CACTUSNET)
General Coordinator

Technical Secretary

Dr. Ali Nefzaoui, ICARDA

ali.nefzaoui@icarda.org.tn;
a.nefzaoui@cgiar.org

Dr. Enrique Arias, FAO

Enrique.arias@fao.org

Regional Coordinators
North America
Dr. Jesus Fuentes, Mexico
jesus_fuentes@hotmail.com

South America
Dr. Judith Ochoa, Argentina
judith@unse.edu.ar

Mediterranean Basin
Dr. Enza Chessa, Italy
Chessa_i@uniss.it

Sub-Saharan Africa
Dr. Johan Potgieter, South Africa
jpot@mweb.co.za, potgieterjp@agricho.norprov.gov.za

West Asia
Dr. Gurbachan Singh, India
gsingh@satyam.net.in

Working Groups Coordinators

Plant Genetic resources collection,
conservation & evaluation
Dr. Candelario Mondragon-Jacobo, Mexico
jacobo77@hotmail.com and
rebe27_10@yahoo.com

Cochineal
Dr. Liberato Portillo, Mexico
lportill@MAIZ.CUCBA.UDG.MX

Fruit production
Dr. Giovanni Nieddu, Italy
gnieddu@uniss.it

Pests & diseases

Dr. Jaime Mena, Mexico
jmena@inifapzac.sagarpa.gob.mx

Agro-industries & post-harvest

Dra. Carmen Saenz , Chile.
csaenz@abello.dic.uchile.cl

Pitayas and Pitahayas

Dr. Noemi Judith Tel-Zur, Israel
telzur@bgu.ac.il

Forage & rangeland

Mr. D. Cordeiro dos Santos, Brazil.
djalma@ipa.br

Biology
Dr. Francisco Campos, Brazil.
bioplant@ufc.br

Nopalitos
Dr. Ricardo Valdez, Mexico.
vacrida@hotmail.com

Medicinal uses
Dra. Monica Nazareno, Argentina.
manazar2004@yahoo.com

66