Search results for "Opuntia"

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 ‘Gialla’. 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…

Study of the natural cactus extracts protective effects on oxidative stress and inflammation related to peroxisomal β-oxidation deficiencies

2023

The objective of my thesis work was to better understand the role of microglial cells in neuroinflammation initiated in several neurovegetative peroxisomal leukodystrophies and to explore the protective effects of substances from the cactus Opuntia ficus indica. To this end, we used as an in vitro model microglial cells deficient in ATP Binding Cassette D transporters (ABCD 1 and ABCD 2) or acyl-CoA oxidase 1 (ACOX1). These are two BV-2 murine cell lines, deficient in Abcd1/Abcd2-/- or deficient in Acox1-/-, obtained elsewhere by gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 methodology. Our results made it possible to: (i) characterize, by differential centrifugation and isopycnic ultracentrifugation…

Evaluation of antitumor and immunomodulatory properties of Indicaxanthin from Opuntia Ficus Indica (L. Mill) fruit

2020

Cancer is a growing health problem around the world and according to estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer deaths worldwide have been reported in 2012 (Ferlay et al., 2015). By 2030, the global burden is expected to grow to 21.7 million new cancer cases and 13 million cancer deaths simply due to the growth and aging of the population. Indicaxanthin ((2S)-2,3-dihydro-4-[2-[(2S)-2a-carboxypyrrolidin-1- yl]ethenyl]pyridine-2a,6-dicarboxylic acid), a betalain pigment from cactus pear fruit, has been the object of sound experimental work over the latest years. As many phytochemicals, indicaxanthin is a redox-ac…

Note su alcune specie ornamentali spontaneizzate in Sicilia

2010

Pro-oxidant activity of indicaxanthin from Opuntia ficus indica modulates arachidonate metabolism and prostaglandin synthesis through lipid peroxide …

2014

Macrophages come across active prostaglandin (PG) metabolism during inflammation, shunting early production of pro-inflammatory towards anti-inflammatory mediators terminating the process. This work for the first time provides evidence that a phytochemical may modulate the arachidonate (AA) metabolism in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, promoting the ultimate formation of anti-inflammatory cyclopentenone 15deoxy-PGJ2. Added 1 h before LPS, indicaxanthin from Opuntia Ficus Indica prevented activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and over-expression of PGE2 synthase-1 (mPGES-1), but up-regulated cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) and PGD2 synthase (H-PGDS), with final product…

Indicaxanthin from Opuntia ficus-indica Crosses the Blood–Brain Barrier and Modulates Neuronal Bioelectric Activity in Rat Hippocampus at Dietary-Con…

2015

Indicaxanthin is a bioactive and bioavailable betalain pigment from the Opuntia ficus-indica fruits. In this in vivo study, kinetic measurements showed that indicaxanthin is revealed in the rat brain within 1 h from oral administration of 2 μmol/ kg, an amount compatible with a dietary consumption of cactus pear fruits in humans. A peak (20 ± 2.4 ng of indicaxanthin per whole brain) was measured after 2.5 h; thereafter the molecule disappeared with first order kinetics within 4 h. The potential of indicaxanthin to affect neural activities was in vivo investigated by a microiontophoretic approach. Indicaxanthin, administered in a range between 0.085 ng and 0.34 ng per neuron, dose-dependentl…

Inhibition of the mechanical activity of mouse ileum by cactus pear (Opuntia Ficus Indica, L, Mill.) fruit extract and its pigment indicaxanthin.

2010

We investigated, using an organ bath technique, the effects of a hydrophilic extract from Opuntia ficus indica fruit pulp (cactus fruit extract, CFE) on the motility of mouse ileum, and researched the extract component(s) responsible for the observed responses. CFE (10-320 mg of fresh fruit pulp equivalents/mL of organ bath) reduced dose-dependently the spontaneous contractions. This effect was unaffected by tetrodotoxin, a neuronal blocker, N(omega)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, a nitric oxide synthase blocker, tetraethylammonium, a potassium channel blocker, or atropine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist. CFE also reduced the contractions evoked by carbachol, without affecting the contrac…