Oil cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.)

Seeds and pulp of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) were compared in terms of fatty acids, lipid classes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins and P-carotene. Total lipids (TL) in lyophilised seeds and pulp were 98.8 (dry weight) and 8.70 g/kg, respectively. High amounts of neutral lipids were found (87.0% of TL) in seed oil, while glycolipids and phospholipids occurred at high levels in pulp oil (52.9% of TL). In both oils, linoleic acid was the dominating fatty acid, followed by palmitic and oleic acids, respectively. Trienes. gamma- and alpha-linolenic acids, were estimated in higher amounts in pulp oil, while a-linolenic acid was only detected at low levels in seed oil. Neutral lipids were characterised by higher unsaturation ratios, while saturates were higher levels in polar lipids. The sterol marker, beta-sitosterol, accounted for 72% and 49% of the total sterol content in seed and pulp oils, respectively. Vitamin E level was higher in the pulp oil than in the seed oil, whereas gamma-tocopherol was the predominant component in seed oil and delta-tocopherol was the main constituent in pulp oil. beta-Carotene was also higher in pulp oil than in seed oil. Oils under investigation resembled each other in the level of vitamin K, (0.05% of TL). Information provided by the present work is of importance for further chemical investigation of cactus pear oil and industrial utilisation of the fruit as a raw material of oils and functional foods. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.