Search results for "Opuntia"

The role of native flower visitors in pollinating Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., naturalized in Sicily

2011

Abstract The role of insects in pollination and consequently in fruit set and quality was assessed in two commercial orchards of the cactus pear, Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., in Agrigento Province, Sicily. In 1997, insects visiting flowers were sampled during May–June (the first bloom) and July (the second bloom, induced by the “scozzolatura” practise). More than 50 insect species belonging to 10 orders were collected in May–June, while only five species of Hymenoptera Apoidea were collected in July. The quality of fruits arising from the second bloom showed that Hymenoptera alone were able to guarantee effective pollination. To verify the role of insects in pollination in 1996 (during …

The effect of soil volume on the growth of roots and canopy of Opuntia ficus-indica

2019

The influence of soil volume on root development and canopy growth rates of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) was studied at Palermo University, Italy, in 2014-2016. In November 2014, 60 1-year-old O. ficus-indica cladodes were planted in pots containing five different soil volumes, 50, 33, 18, 9 or 5 L, in a complete randomized design with three replications. Root dry mass, total number of cladodes and canopy dry mass were measured after 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. The results revealed a significant effect of soil volume and sampling time and their interaction (P<0.01) on root dry mass, total number of cladodes and canopy dry mass. Root dry mass ranged between 23 and 206 g, with the highe…

Dry matter accumulation and seasonal partitioning in mature Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. fruiting trees

2014

Aim of this study was to understand the allocation of biomass into different canopy and root components and to measure the stem area index and its partitioning by cladode functionality (age), for fruiting Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) Gialla trees, spaced 6x5 m apart and trained to a globe. The net primary productivity (NPP), calculated taking into account dry weight gain for above-ground vegetative components of OFI trees was 3.6 t C ha –1 . Including the fruit component and 1 st flush current-year cladodes, NPP of above-ground components becomes 12 t ha –1 , equivalent to 5.4 t C ha –1 . Current-year cladodes were the highest C sink (49% of total annual C fixed in the canopy), secondary grow…

Indicaxanthin inhibits NADPH oxidase (NOX)-1 activation and NF-κB-dependent release of inflammatory mediators and prevents the increase of epithelial…

2014

Dietary redox-active/antioxidant phytochemicals may help control or mitigate the inflammatory response in chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In the present study, the anti-inflammatory activity of indicaxanthin (Ind), a pigment from the edible fruit of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica, L.), was shown in an IBD model consisting of a human intestinal epithelial cell line (Caco-2 cells) stimulated by IL-1β, a cytokine known to play a major role in the initiation and amplification of inflammatory activity in IBD. The exposure of Caco-2 cells to IL-1β brought about the activation of NADPH oxidase (NOX-1) and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to activate intracellular signal…

Indagine preliminare sulla produzione e composizione di succo fermentato di Fico d'India (Opuntia ficus-indica)

2011

Determination of Evapotranspiration and Crop Coefficient of Cactus Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill.) with an Energy Balance Technique

2013

A micrometeorological approach based on surface renewal technique was adopted to estimate evapotranspiration fluxes and crop coefficient data from an irrigated cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill.) orchard under Mediterranean climatic conditions. High-frequency temperature readings were taken above the canopy top in order to get surface renewal sensible heat flux values (HSR). These values were compared against eddy covariance sensible heat fluxes (HEC) for calibration. Latent heat flux (or evapotranspiration, ET) was obtained as the residual of the energy balance equation using HSR. In field measurements of biophysical crop features, physiological characteristic and soil hydraulic compo…

Highlighting the divertsity of cactus populations (Opuntia spp.) in Morocco and modulation of lipid metabolism by natural extracts and phytosterols f…

2015

The objective of this PhD thesis is to characterize the Moroccan germplasm of the cactus Opuntia collected from different regions in Morocco, by studying the phenologic behavior, the genetic features and physicochemical composition, along with the molecules of high therapeutic potential which may have beneficial effects on the central nervous system cells from cactus extracts (fruit, flower, seed, oil, cladodes and spine) and compared to Argan oil. This work has been conducted in fours different laboratories sharing complementary analyses skills at agronomic, biochemistry, molecular levels. Our results are presented in three parts : (i) cactus agronomic characteristics, (ii) purification an…

Dietary indicaxanthin from cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Mill) fruit prevents eryptosis induced by oxysterols in a hypercholesterolaemia-relev…

2015

Toxic oxysterols in a hypercholesterolaemia-relevant proportion cause suicidal death of human erythrocytes or eryptosis. This process proceeds through early production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), release of prostaglandin (PGE2) and opening of PGE2-dependent Ca channels, membrane phosphatidylserine (PS) externalisation, and cell shrinkage. The present study was the first to reveal that a bioavailable phytochemical, indicaxanthin (Ind) from cactus pear fruit, in a concentration range (1·0–5·0 μM) consistent with its plasma level after a fruit meal, prevents PS externalisation and cell shrinkage in a dose-dependent manner when incubated with isolated healthy human erythrocytes exposed to…

Impact of conventional and non-conventional processing on prickly pear ( Opuntia spp.) and their derived products: From preservation of beverages to …

2017

Abstract Background In recent years, both food researchers and food industry have shown growing interest in Opuntia fruits, as they constitute a good source of phytochemicals such as phenolics, vitamin C, vitamin E, polysaccharides and betalains. Many of these compounds have shown antioxidant, anti-cancer, antiatherosclerotic and/or hepatoprotective properties. Moreover, the fruit is also a source of dietary fibers, which promote bowel transit, thus preventing constipation. Scope and approach Due to these properties, Opuntia fruits are considered as functional products offering numerous health benefits when are consumed as fresh or processed product. However, these compounds can lose their …

Evaluation of new functional pasta using TOPSIS methodology

2017

Nowadays several studies are focused on the introduction of Opuntia in frequently consumed foods, such as pasta and bakery products. Food products containing Opuntia are in fact able to reduce body weight and plasma LDL cholesterol, lipids and glucose. Foods, that may provide health and wellness benefits, are known as "functional foods". The aim of this paper is the evaluation of a new functional pasta comprising Opuntia able to guarantee health benefits without altering the organoleptic properties of the final product. For this purpose, a set of samples, based on different concentration of Opuntia solution and process parameters, was prepared for the production of short and long pasta. The…