Journal
FRONTIERS IN BIOSCIENCE-LANDMARK
Volume 11, Issue -, Pages 2574-2589Publisher
BIOSCIENCE RESEARCH INST-BRI
DOI: 10.2741/1992
Keywords
cactus; medicine; opuntia; cladode; fruit; food; industry; prickly pear; review
Categories
Funding
- NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE [K07CA075966] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NCI NIH HHS [CA75966] Funding Source: Medline
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Natural products and health foods have recently received a lot of attention both by health professionals and the common population for improving overall well-being, as well as in the prevention of diseases including cancer. In this line, all types of fruits and vegetables have been reevaluated and recognized as valuable sources of nutraceuticals. The great number of potentially active nutrients and their multifunctional properties make cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) fruits and cladodes perfect candidates for the production of health-promoting food and food supplements. Although traditionally appreciated for its pharmacological properties by the Native Americans, cactus pear is still hardly recognized because of insufficient scientific information. However, recent studies on Opuntia spp. have demonstrated cactus pear fruit and vegetative cladodes to be excellent candidates for the development of healthy food. Therefore, this review summarizes current knowledge on the chemical composition of Opuntia cacti with particular emphasis in its use as food and medicine.
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