Abstract
Plants belonging to the genus Opuntia spp. are the most abundant of the Cactaceae family, grown throughout America and the Mediterranean central area. Its fruit, known as cactus pear or prickly pear, is an oval berry grouped in different colors. Some studies have shown its antioxidant activities which may help in preventing chronic pathologies such as diabetes. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of three varieties of prickly pear juice (red-purple, white-green and yellow-orange) in five different concentrations (100, 250, 500, 750, and 1000 mg/mL) by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical) colorimetric method, selecting the best variety to determine its anticlastogenic potential against methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). The results indicate that the highest antioxidant was found in the juice of the prickly pear red-purple variety (PPRP), in all concentrations. Its anticlastogenic potential was therefore evaluated with a micronucleus assay. The experiment was run over two weeks. A negative control was included along with a positive control with MMS (40 mg/kg), a group of mice treated with PPRP (25 mL/kg), and three groups with PPRP (in doses of 25, 16.5 and 8.3 mL/kg) plus the mutagen. The PPRP was administered daily by oral gavage and the MMS was injected intraperitoneally five days prior to the end of the experiment. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h in order to determine the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPE). The results indicated that PPRP is not a genotoxic agent, on the contrary, it may reduce the number of MNPE. In this regard, the PPRP showed an anticlastogenic effect directly proportional to its concentrations. Thus, the highest protection was obtained with a concentration of 25 mL/kg after 48 h of treatment.
Highlights
Plants belonging to the genus Opuntia spp. are the most abundant of the Cactaceae family, grown throughout the Americas as well as the central area of the Mediterranean, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia
With respect to the prickly pear juice vials, we found that the three varieties of prickly pear showed a concentration dependent antioxidant capacity
We evaluated the antioxidant capacity of three varieties of prickly pear juice because these species are frequently consumed in our country
Summary
Plants belonging to the genus Opuntia spp. are the most abundant of the Cactaceae family, grown throughout the Americas as well as the central area of the Mediterranean, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Opuntia species display flattened stems called “pencas” or cladodes [1]. The cactus pear fruit called prickly pear fruit is an oval elongated berry, with a thick pericarp, a juicy pulp with a considerable number of seeds and a semi-hard rind with thorns. The pericarp and the edible pulp may have different colors such as green, greenish white, canary yellow, lemon yellow, red, cherry-red, or purple hues [2]. The fruits with white pulp and green rind are preferred for consumption as food, and their domestic production corresponds to almost 95% of the total production [2]. Mexico is the main producer of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill species, and accounts for more than 45% of the worldwide production; only 1.5% of this production is exported [3]
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