Search results for " cactus"
showing 10 items of 11 documents
Absorption, excretion, and distribution of dietary antioxidant betalains in LDLs: potential health effects of betalains in humans
2004
Background: Betalains were recently identified as natural antioxidants. However, little is known about their bioavailability from dietary sources. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the bioavailability of betalains from dietary sources. Design: The plasma kinetics and urinary excretion of betalains were studied in healthy volunteers (n 8) after a single ingestion of 500 g cactus pear fruit pulp, which provided 28 and 16 mg indicaxanthin and betanin, respectively. The incorporation of betalains in LDL and the resistance of the particles to ex vivo–induced oxidation was also researched. Results: Betanin and indicaxanthin reached their maximum plasma concentrations 3 h after the fruit me…
Biothiols, taurine, and lipid-soluble antioxidants in the edible pulp of Sicilian cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruits and changes of bioactive …
2005
Biothiols, taurine, and flavonols, as well as tocopherols and carotenoids have been assessed in the edible pulp of Sicilian red (Sanguigna), yellow (Surfarina), and white (Muscaredda) cultivars of cactus pear. The yellow cultivar has the highest level of reduced glutathione (GSH, 8.1 +/- 0.78 mg/100 g pulp), whereas the white cultivar showed the highest amount of cysteine (1.21 +/- 0.12 mg/100 g pulp). Taurine accounted for 11.7 +/- 1.0 mg/100 g in the yellow pulp, while lower levels were measured in the others. With the exception of kaempferol in the yellow cultivar (2.7 +/- 0.2 microg/100 g pulp), the edible pulp of cactus pear was not a source of flavonols. Very low amounts of lipid-solu…
Yeasts vectored by migratory birds collected in the Mediterranean island of Ustica and description of Phaffomyces usticensis f.a. sp. nov., a new spe…
2014
Nine yeast species belonging to genera Candida , Cryptococcus , Phaffomyces , Rhodotorula and Wickerhamomyces , and one species of Aureobasidium genus were isolated from the cloaca of migratory birds. Candida glabrata and C. inconspicua were the species most frequently isolated and Wickerhamomyces sylviae , which has recently been described as a new species isolated from bird cloaca, was again found. The majority of isolates showed the ability to grow up to 40 °C and/or at pH 3.0, two environmental conditions typical of the digestive tract of birds. The phylogenetic analysis of the D1/D2 domain of 26S rRNA gene placed the cultures of Phaffomyces in a new lineage that differed from the close…
Seasonal characterization of nutritional and antioxidant properties of Opuntia ficus-indica [(L.) Mill.] mucilage
2021
Abstract Opuntia ficus-indica fruit and cladodes are a source of mucilage, a carbohydrate complex, as well as of phytochemicals and other nutrients, useful in the food industry. Despite the environmental-based composition variability has been studied, there is no information on its seasonal variability, which is particularly important for its industrial use. In this study, some technological, nutritional, and bioactive properties of O. ficus-indica cladodes mucilage were analyzed during the seasonal growth period. Total proteins did not change during the whole period and the lipid content significantly decreased from winter to the onset of summer. The fatty acid profile showed high levels o…
Effets d’extraits de raquette du cactus -Opuntia ficus indica- sur la modulation du stress oxydant et du processus inflammatoire liés à la déficienc…
2018
Acyl-CoA oxidase 1 (ACOX1) deficiency is a rare and severe peroxisomal leukodystrophy associated with a very long-chain fatty acids β-oxidation defect. As peroxisomal defects in microglia appear to be a key component of physiopathogenesis in ACOX1 deficiency, we used the murine BV-2 microglial cell line as model: (i) to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Opuntia ficus-indica cactus cladode extracts; (ii) to characterize a new BV-2 ACOX1 deficient cell line recently generated in our laboratory by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. In the first part of this work, the microglia activation, achieved by BV-2 cells exposition to four structurally and biologically well-defined lip…
Absorption and distribution in erythrocytes and low density lipoproteins of betalains from cacus pear (Opuntia Ficus Indica) in healthy humans. Poten…
2004
ABSTRACT Background: Betalains were recently identified as natural antioxidants. However, little is known about their bioavailability from dietary sources. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the bioavailability of betalains from dietary sources. Design: The plasma kinetics and urinary excretion of betalains were studied in healthy volunteers (n = 8) after a single ingestion of 500 g cactus pear fruit pulp, which provided 28 and 16 mg indicaxanthin and betanin, respectively. The incorporation of betalains in LDL and the resistance of the particles to ex vivo-induced oxidation was also researched. Results: Betanin and indicaxanthin reached their maximum plasma concentrations 3 h after t…
Reducing postharvest decay in cactus pears by dip treatment with imazalil or azoxystrobin
2019
Postharvest decay in cactus pear is a minor problem in fruit marketed directly after harvest, while it may represent a major cause of losses when fruit are cold stored or subjected to cold quarantine treatments. Unfortunately, to date, no postharvest fungicide has been registered to control postharvest decay of cactus pears. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two globally known fungicides, imazalil (IMZ) and azoxystrobin (AZO), registered for postharvest treatment of various fresh produce species, to control decay on cactus pears. Second-crop cactus pears ‘Gialla’ fruits were dipped in 500 mg L(‑1) IMZ or AZO and stored at 1 or 8°C and 90-95% RH for 2 or 3 wee…
CO2 FLUXES OF OPUNTIA FICUS-INDICA MILL. TREES IN RELATION TO WATER STATUS
2013
Gas exchange pattern in O. ficus-indica(OFI), refers to the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM); trees have nocturnal stomata opening, so net CO2 uptake and water loss occur during the cooler part ofthe 24-hour cycle. Succulent cladodes skip severe periods of drought through their water storer tissue (parenchyma). To study carbon fluxes in stress and no stress conditions, an experiment was carried out on 3-year-old irrigated and non-irrigated OFI potted trees; whole tree gas exchange was measured continuously with a balloon system made up by a portable Infrared Gas Analyzer. Continuous measurements(nighttime) during the summer season were useful to assess differences in carbon uptake under s…
Seasonal characterization of nutritional, technological and antioxidant properties of Opuntia ficus-indica Mill. mucilage
2022
Opuntia ficus-indica Mill. fruit and cladodes are a source of mucilage, a carbohydrate complex, as well as of phytochemicals and other nutrients, useful in the food industry. Despite the environmental-based composition variability studied, there is no information on its seasonal variability, which is particularly important for its industrial use. In this study, some technological, nutritional, and bioactive properties of O. ficus-indica Mill. cladodes mucilage were analysed during the seasonal growth period. Total proteins did not change during the whole period and the lipid content significantly decreased from winter to the onset of summer. The fatty acid profile showed high levels of palm…
Leaf-like Structure in the Photosynthetic, Succulent Stems of Cacti
1991
This research examined the hypothesis that as cacti evolve to the leafless condition, the stem epidermis and cortex become more leaflike and more compatible with a photosynthetic role. All cacti in the relict genus Pereskia have non-succulent stems and broad, thin leaves. All members of the derived subfamily Cactoideae are ‘leafless’, having an expanded cortex that is the plant's only photosynthetic tissue. In Pereskia, leaves have a high stomatal density (mean: 50.7 stomata mm−2 in the lower epidermis, 38.1 mm−2 in the upper epidermis), but stems have low stomatal densities (mean: 11.3 mm 2, three of the species have none). Stems of Cactoideae have a high stomatal density (mean: 31.1 mm−2,…