Abstract
Cereus jamacaru DC. is an endemic cactus of the Brazilian semiarid region empirically used by humans for forage, food and medicinal purposes. In this paper, we characterize the physicochemical and phytochemical profile of the C. jamacaru cladode and fruits, outlining their nutritional implications. We evaluate the basic physicochemical characteristic of the fruits and the main classes of chemical compounds present in aqueous and ethanolic extracts from cladode, peel, and pulp of ripe and semi-ripe fruits through qualitatively and quantitatively methods. We analyze the data through descriptive statistics and variance analysis. The fruits have appropriate pH, acidity, and total soluble solid levels for the fruit processing industry and fresh consumption. We identified the presence of saponins, tannins, flavones, flavonols, and xanthones in all samples, but alkaloids and steroids were both detected in cladodes exclusively. The phenolic compound and flavonoid contents vary according to the extraction method and sample class. The cladodes and pulp of ripe fruits have the highest flavonoid levels, while the content of phenolic compounds had a high level in peels of ripe and semi-ripe fruits. The presence of these bioactive compounds implies that C. jamacaru products have relevant pharmacological interest and functionality for human (fruits) and domestic ruminant (cladodes) food. These applications can boost the agricultural-economic exploration of C. jamacaru and contribute to income generation, and improve human and animal nutrition.
Highlights
The Brazilian Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest, the so-called “Caatinga”, covers an area of 912,529 km2in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil (Silva, Leal and Tabarelli, 2017)
We identified the presence of saponins, tannins, flavones, flavonols, and xanthones in all samples, but alkaloids and steroids were both detected in cladodes exclusively
The phenolic compound and flavonoid contents vary according to the extraction method and sample class
Summary
The Brazilian Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest, the so-called “Caatinga”, covers an area of 912,529 km2in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil (Silva, Leal and Tabarelli, 2017). The Caatinga supplies multiple environmental services and has potential for sustainable extractive activities of timber and non-timber forest products, including edible fruits and bioactive substances. Cactaceae is a plant family abundant in the Caatinga (Sampaio and Costa, 2011) that contains several useful species for humans. Cereus jamacaru DC., popularly known as mandacaru, is one of this useful Cactaceae specie for humans (Sales et al, 2014) because its fruits are edible and the stem (cladode) is a source of domestic ruminant food. Besides being an important food source for cattle during the dry season (Zara et al, 2012), the cladodes have antimicrobial, vasodilatory (Messias, 2010), anti-inflammatory, and contraceptive actions (Andrade et al, 2006), as experimentally demonstrated in rodents. The C. jamacaru fruit is an oblong ellipsoid-shaped berry, its pulp is white funicular and mucilaginous with black-colored seeds (Rocha and Agra, 2002) frequently consumed in natura or as juices and jellies by the locals
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