TY  - JOUR
TI  - Prickly pear fruits from "Opuntia ficus-indica" varieties as a source of potential bioactive compounds in the Mediterranean diet
EP  - 592
ID  - uneatlantico5365
AV  - none
A1  - Armas Diaz, Yasmany
A1  - Machě, Michele
A1  - Salinari, Alessia
A1  - Mazas Pérez-Oleaga, Cristina
A1  - Martínez López, Nohora Milena
A1  - Briones Urbano, Mercedes
A1  - Cianciosi, Danila
KW  - Opuntia ficus-indica
KW  -  flavonoids
KW  -  betalains
KW  -  health-promoting properties
Y1  - 2022/12//
N2  - Cactus has been used in traditional folk medicine because of its role in treating a number of diseases and conditions. Prickly pear fruit is an excellent source of secondary metabolites (i.e., betalains, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid) with health-promoting properties against many common human diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, rheumatic pain, gastric mucosa diseases and asthma. In addition, prickly pears are potential candidates for the development of low-cost functional foods because they grow with low water requirements in arid regions of the world. This review describes the main bioactive compounds found in this fruit and shows the in vitro and some clinical studies about the fruit of most important cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) and its relationship with some chronic diseases. Even though a lot of effort have been done to study the relationship between this fruit and the human health, more studies on Opuntia ficus-indica could help better understand its pharmacological mechanism of action to provide clear scientific evidence to explain its traditional uses, and to identify its therapeutic potential in other diseases.
JF  - Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism
SP  - 581
IS  - 4
VL  - 15
UR  - http://doi.org/10.3233/MNM-220102
SN  - 1973798X
ER  -