Search results for "Cactus"
showing 10 items of 63 documents
Increasing Cold Tolerance of Cactus Pear Fruit by High-Temperature Conditioning and Film Wrapping
2017
Pre-storage high-temperature conditioning (HTC, 38 °C, and 95% RH for 24 h) and individual film wrapping (IFW) with a perforated polyolefinic heat-shrinkable film were used as individual treatments or in combination to mitigate chilling injury of first crop cactus pear cv âGiallaâ. The fruit was stored for 21 days at either 2 or 8 °C (CS) plus 1 week of simulated marketing conditions (SMC) at 20 °C. The reduction in peel disorders and decay in HTC-treated fruit stored at 2 °C was comparable to that detected in control fruit stored at 8 °C. IFW was more efficient than HTC in reducing peel disorders, almost completely inhibited weight loss, and preserved freshness in fruit st…
Quality of cactus pear [Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.] fruit in relation to ripening time, CaCl2 pre-harvest sprays and storage conditions
1999
Abstract Post-harvest behaviour of summer and autumn ripening cactus pear ( Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. Cactaceae) fruit cv. Gialla was investigated in relation to pre-harvest growing conditions, and CaCl 2 applications. Summer ripening cactus pear fruit were stored for 5 weeks at 6°C and 90–95% relative humidity (RH), and 3 days at 20°C, 75% RH to simulate a marketing period (SMP). Autumn ripening fruits were kept under the same conditions for 7 weeks plus a SMP. Summer ripening cactus pear fruit were more susceptible to chilling injury and to weight loss, but less sensitive to decay than autumn fruit. CaCl 2 delayed rind colour development and increased fruit resistance to decay but p…
Effect of cladode shading on growth and ripening of fruits of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indicaL. Miller)
1997
SummaryFruiting cladodes of O. ficus-indica were covered with shade nets at different stages of the fruit development period to study the effect of the time and duration of shade on fruit growth, ripening time and harvest quality. Shading the fruiting cladodes 0, 15 and 30 d after full bloom (DAB) for a period of 15, 30, 45, 60 or 75 d significantly reduced fruit growth and ultimate harvest size. The longer the shading period the greater was the reduction of harvest fruit size. The greatest reduction of fruit growth (30%) occurred when the fruiting cladodes were shaded from bloom to harvest. Differences in growth rate beween fruits on shaded or sunlit cladodes begun to appear at 30 DAB and …
Fresh-cut products from cactus species
2005
Various species of Cactaceae family can serve a source of delicious and healthy fresh foodstuffs. Marketing cacti as ready-to-eat (fresh-cut) products may significantly expand their consumption, on condition that their quality, safety and longevity would answer the market demands. The present work was aimed at studying the storability of fresh-cut products prepared from several edible cactus species and looking for ways to improve their keeping quality. The experiments included fruit of cactus pear Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller, cactus apple (koubo) Cereus peruvianus (L.) Miller, and dragon fruit (pitaya) Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britton and Rose, as well as cladodes (pads) of nopal (ve…
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…
Inhibitory effects of indicaxanthin on mouse ileal contractility: analysis of the mechanism of action.
2011
Recently, we have showed that indicaxanthin, the yellow betalain pigment abundant in the fruit of Opuntia ficus indica, has remarkable spasmolytic effects on the intestinal contractility in vitro. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of action underlying the observed response. We used organ bath technique to record the mechanical activity of the mouse ileum longitudinal muscle and ELISA to measure the levels of cAMP. Indicaxanthin induced inhibitory effects on spontaneous mechanical activity, which were unaffected by indomethacin, a non-selective inhibitor of cycloxygenase; 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one, a selective inhibitor of nitric oxide-…
The effectiveness of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage edible coating on postharvest maintenance of ‘Dottato’ fig (Ficus carica L.) fruit
2017
Abstract Breba figs are highly perishable and their shelf-life is very short. In this study, breba figs (cv. ‘Dottato’) were treated with a mucilage solution of Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes, sealed in plastic bags, and stored at 4 °C for 14 days. The effect of the edible coating on the shelf-life and qualitative attributes of the fruit were evaluated by colors, content of total soluble solids, titratable acidity, total phenol, total carotenoids. Results showed that coating improves the quality of breba fig during storage. The edible coating was effective in maintaining fruit fresh weight, visual score values, fruit firmness and total carotenoid content. Coated fruit showed a significantly …
Nopal Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) as a Source of Bioactive Compounds for Nutrition, Health and Disease
2014
Opuntia ficus-indica, commonly referred to as prickly pear or nopal cactus, is a dicotyledonous angiosperm plant. It belongs to the Cactaceae family and is characterized by its remarkable adaptation to arid and semi-arid climates in tropical and subtropical regions of the globe. In the last decade, compelling evidence for the nutritional and health benefit potential of this cactus has been provided by academic scientists and private companies. Notably, its rich composition in polyphenols, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids and amino acids has been highlighted through the use of a large panel of extraction methods. The identified natural cactus compounds and derivatives were shown to be e…
Effect of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller) on the antioxidant capacity of donkey milk
2017
The cladodes of Opuntia ficus‐indica (L.) Miller were fed to lactating donkeys as an alternative food, in order to evaluate effects on the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of their milk. Lactating donkeys were divided into two groups: standard feeding and alternative feeding. With regard to chemical composition, no differences were observed. Total antioxidant capacity was constant in the standard feeding group, while it increased in the alternative feeding group: the radical scavenging activity increased from 95.53% to 96.62% in the ABTS test and from 28.40% to 33.33% in the DPPH test. This indicated that alternative feeding affects the antioxidant capacity of milk.