Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Anillo Envolvente del Pronaf y Estocolmo s/n, C.P. 32310 Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Red de Estudios Moleculares Avanzados, Clúster Científico y Tecnológico BioMimic®, Instituto de Ecología A.C. (INECOL), Carretera Antigua a Coatepec No. 351, Congregación el Haya, C.P. 91070 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
Food Res Int. 2021 Feb;140:109909. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109909. Epub 2020 Nov 24.
Mexico presents the highest richness of Opuntia Mill. species. These species are an important economic factor for the country, and source of nutrients, bioactive compounds, pigments, and nutraceuticals which can be of interest for the food and pharmaceutical industry. However, there are some wild Opuntia species in the Chihuahua desert, that have not been analyzed to establish their properties and potential use. The aim of study was to evaluate the sensory, physicochemical and protein profile in wild prickly pear fruits (O. macrocentra Engelm. (OM), O. phaeacantha Engelm. (OP), and O. engelmannii Salm-Dyck ex Engelmann. (OE)) from Samalayuca, Chihuahua and compare them with two commercial prickly pear fruits (O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (green-OFG, red-OFR). The sensory profile of wild species was characterized by highest color, odor, and sour taste compared to the commercial fruits. Pulp, peel, and seeds from wild prickly pear fruits showed lower pH, and higher titratable total acidity, total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, antioxidant capacity, protein, lipids, ash, carbohydrates (only peel), and crude fiber content than commercial Opuntia species. Furthermore, O. engelmannii showed a tendency to present the highest betacyanins, betaxanthins, and betalains contents. A total of 181, 122, 113, 183 and 140 different proteins were identified in OM, OP, OE, OFG, OFR species, respectively. All species showed the highest enrichment in three main pathways such as amino acids biosynthesis, glycolysis (dark)/gluconeogenesis (light), and the citric acid cycle. The wild prickly pear fruits of this study showed important nutritional, protein, and antioxidant properties with biological interest, and can be a potential source of functional ingredients and nutraceuticals.
墨西哥拥有最多的仙人柱属物种。这些物种是该国的重要经济因素，也是营养物质、生物活性化合物、色素和营养保健品的来源，这些物质对食品和制药行业具有重要意义。然而，在奇瓦瓦沙漠中，有一些野生的仙人柱属物种尚未被分析，以确定它们的特性和潜在用途。本研究的目的是评估来自奇瓦瓦州萨马拉尤卡的野生仙人掌果实（O. macrocentra Engelm. (OM)、O. phaeacantha Engelm. (OP) 和 O. engelmannii Salm-Dyck ex Engelmann. (OE)）的感官、理化和蛋白质图谱，并将其与两种商业仙人掌果实（O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (绿果-OFG，红果-OFR）进行比较。野生种的感官特征是颜色、气味和酸味比商业果实更高。与商业仙人球属物种相比，野生仙人掌果实的果肉、果皮和种子的 pH 值较低，总酸、总酚类化合物、总类黄酮、抗氧化能力、蛋白质、脂肪、灰分、碳水化合物（仅果皮）和粗膳食纤维含量较高。此外，O. engelmannii 表现出较高的甜菜红素、甜菜黄素和甜菜碱含量的趋势。在 OM、OP、OE、OFG 和 OFR 物种中分别鉴定出 181、122、113、183 和 140 种不同的蛋白质。所有物种在三个主要途径中表现出最高的富集，如氨基酸生物合成、糖酵解（暗）/糖异生（亮）和柠檬酸循环。本研究中的野生仙人掌果实具有重要的营养、蛋白质和抗氧化特性，具有生物学意义，可作为功能性成分和营养保健品的潜在来源。
