New Functional Foods with Cactus Components: Sustainable Perspectives and Future Trends

The growing interest in a healthy lifestyle has contributed to disseminating perspectives on more sustainable natural resource management. This review describes promising aspects of using cacti in the food industry, addressing sustainable, nutritional, and functional aspects of the plant's production. Our study provides an overview of the potential of cacti for the food industry to encourage the sustainable cultivation of underutilized cactus species and their commercial exploitation. The commercial production of cacti has advantages over other agricultural practices by mitigating damage to ecosystems and encouraging migration to sustainable agriculture. The application of cactus ingredients in food development has been broad, whether in producing breads, jellies, gums, dyes, probiotics, and postbiotic and paraprobiotic foods. However, in the field of probiotic foods, future research should focus on technologies applied in processing and researching interactions between probiotics and raw materials to determine the functionality and bioactivity of products.

Automated summary

The growing interest in a healthy lifestyle has led to a spread of perspectives on sustainable natural resource management. This review focuses on the use of cacti in the food industry, highlighting its sustainability, nutrition, and functionality. The study provides an overview of the potential benefits of cacti for promoting sustainable cultivation of underutilized species and their commercial exploitation. Commercial cactus production offers advantages over other agricultural practices by minimizing ecosystem damage and promoting a shift towards sustainable agriculture. The application of cactus ingredients in food development is wide-ranging, including producing breads, jellies, gums, dyes, probiotics, and postbiotic and paraprobiotic foods. However, further research is needed to study processing technologies and probiotic interactions with raw materials to determine product functionality and bioactivity.