Assessment of technological and nutritional qualities of the powder of prickly pear cladodes at four ages of growth

Opuntia ficus-indica(the cactus or prickly pear) is a cactus belonging to the Opuntiae family. Several Opuntiae plant parts have been used in traditional Moroccan medicine. In this study, we investigated its most common use as an analgesic. An ethnobotanical study ofOpuntia ficus-indicawas first conducted in 10 areas in Morocco. Extracts fromOpuntia ficus-indicacladodes were obtained using a decoction method and its analgesic activity in mice was investigated by the hot plate and tail flick methods. Cladode extracts had significant (p<0.05) analgesic activity at intraperitoneal doses of 300, 500, and 1000 mg/kg body weight. Both methods revealed significantly increased latency at all three doses (p<0.05) compared to controls. These data suggest that the traditional use of this plant as an analgesic is valid; in fact, perhaps it may be a centrally-acting analgesic.

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Improvement of Nutritional Qualities of Fermented Kernels of Wild Legume Canavalia cathartica by Rhizopus oligosporus

Current Biochemical Engineering ◽

10.2174/2212711902666150701190732 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 128-138

Author(s):

Vedavyas R. Niveditha ◽

Kandikere R. Sridhar

Keyword(s):

Rhizopus Oligosporus ◽

Nutritional Qualities ◽

Wild Legume

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Extruded breakfast meal from malted finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seed flour: in-vivo nutritional qualities study

Bulletin of the National Research Centre ◽

10.1186/s42269-021-00533-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Joseph Oghenewogaga Owheruo ◽

Timilehin David Oluwajuyitan ◽

Beatrice Olawunmi Ifesan ◽

Matthew Kolawole Bolade

Keyword(s):

Finger Millet ◽

Citrullus Lanatus ◽

Breakfast Meal ◽

Formulated Diets ◽

Cell Counts ◽

Formulated Diet ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Nutritional Qualities ◽

Flour Blends

Abstract Background The study aimed at evaluating the in-vivo nutritional qualities of extruded breakfast meal produced from flour blends of malted finger millet and watermelon seed. Results The proximate compositions of the flour blends revealed that there was progressive increase in protein (12.83–15.14) %, with increase in the watermelon substitution. The protein quality evaluation of the extrudate showed that the protein efficiency ratio ranged from 0.64 to 89.75, while the biological values were between (87.82–89.75)%. The relative organs weight of rats fed with extruded breakfast meal showed that, the weights of the kidney and liver of rats fed with extruded breakfast meal were significantly lower compared with rats fed with goldenmorn. The hematological indices showed that the packed cell volume and the red blood cell counts of rats fed with the formulated diets were significantly lower compared with those fed with goldenmorn but significantly higher than rats fed with basal. Meanwhile, the values of the white blood cells count for the formulated diet shows no significant difference compared with rats fed with goldenmorn. Conclusions Evidently, the growth performance of the rats fed with the extruded breakfast meal revealed that the formulated diets promote growth status of the animals with relatively low effect on organs of experimental rat used in this study. Hence, formulated diet may serve as alternative to expensive commercial breakfast meal.

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Clarification Processes of Orange Prickly Pear Juice (Opuntia spp.) by Microfiltration

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes11050354 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 354

Author(s):

Jaime A. Arboleda Mejia ◽

Jorge Yáñez-Fernandez

Keyword(s):

Suspended Solids ◽

Cross Flow ◽

Laboratory Scale ◽

Prickly Pear ◽

Permeate Flux ◽

Color Properties ◽

Pear Juice ◽

Opuntia Spp

In this study, fresh orange prickly pear juice (Opuntia spp.) was clarified by a cross-flow microfiltration (MF) process on a laboratory scale. The viability of the process—in terms of productivity (permeate flux of 77.80 L/h) and the rejection of selected membranes towards specific compounds—was analyzed. The quality of the clarified juice was also analyzed for total antioxidants (TEAC), betalains content (mg/100 g wet base), turbidity (NTU) and colorimetry parameters (L, a*, b*, Croma and H). The MF process permitted an excellent level of clarification, reducing the suspended solids and turbidity of the fresh juice. In the clarified juice, a decrease in total antioxidants (2.03 TEAC) and betalains content (4.54 mg/100 g wet basis) was observed as compared to the fresh juice. Furthermore, there were significant changes in color properties due to the effects of the L, a*, b*, C and h° values after removal of turbidity of the juice. The turbidity also decreased (from 164.33 to 0.37 NTU).

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The Influence of Physical Treatments on Phytochemical Changes in Fresh Produce after Storage and Marketing

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11040788 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 788

Author(s):

Elazar Fallik ◽

Zoran Ilić

Keyword(s):

Fruits And Vegetables ◽

Growth Conditions ◽

Nutritional Content ◽

Nutrition And Health ◽

Phytochemical Content ◽

Post Harvest ◽

Crop Genetics ◽

Anti Cancer ◽

Nutritional Qualities ◽

Physical Treatments

More food with high nutritional content will be needed to feed the growing global human population, which is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. Fruits and vegetables contain most of the minerals, micronutrients, and phytonutrients essential for human nutrition and health. The quantity of these phytochemicals depends on crop genetics, weather and environmental factors, growth conditions, and pre-harvest and post-harvest treatments. These phytochemicals are known to have anti-cancer properties and to regulate immunity, in addition to hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anti-aging, hypotensive, hypoglycemic, and other pharmacological properties. Physical treatments have been reported to be effective for managing several post-harvest diseases and physiological disorders. These treatments may affect the external, internal, and nutritional qualities of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the aim of this review is to summarize the information recently reported regarding the use of physical treatments applied either directly or in combination with other means to maximize and maintain the phytochemical content of fresh and fresh-cut or processed fruits and vegetables.

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