The concentration of glucan, mucilage, soluble carbohydrates, and malic acid were determined in Opuntia bigelovii Engelm. during a 23-week period. The experiment began during the dry summer by irrigation to stimulate Crassulacean acid metabolism and was followed by 13 weeks of drought. After the 13-week drought period, the plants were irrigated throughout a 10-week period until late December. T...

New individuals in clonal populations arise through the recruitment of sexual or clonal offspring. The predominance of one type of regeneration over the other has been correlated with different selective environmental pressures. We compared the reproductive mode (sexual through seeds and vegetative through plantlets or detached cladodes) of Opuntia microdasys from three desert habitats of the C...

The antioxidant activity and the chemical composition of methanol extracts from peel and pulp belonging to two species of Tunisian prickly pears Opuntia ficus indica (spiny and thornless forms) and Opuntia stricta has been studied. The antioxidant capacity was measured by DPPH radical scavenging activity. The Total Phenolic Compound (TPC) and the total flavonoid content were determined by the F...

Opuntia ficus indica cladodes possess a protective action against ethanol-induced ulcer in the rat. The major components of cladodes are carbohydrate polymers, mainly mucilages and pectin. To clarify the cytoprotective effects of cladodes on experimental ethanol-induced ulcer in rat, mucilages and pectin were extracted and were administered instead of cladodes. The above mentioned effects induc...

The mechanical properties and structure of cactus Opuntia ficus-indica spines were characterised in bending and by means of x-ray diffraction. Using spruce wood cell walls for reference, the modulus of elasticity of Opuntia cactus spines was high in absolute terms, but comparable when specific values were considered, which can be explained by similarities in the cell wall structure of both mate...

Abstract Solar drying is a sustainable process that may impact the quality of dried food. This because, pigments contained in food are sensitive to sunlight, and exposure ultraviolet radiation can affect them. We applied biopolymer-based coatings on strawberry, from hydro-colloidal solutions Opuntia ficus indica -mucilage, fenugreek, xanthan gum, gum Arabic, guar evaluate their potential use as...

Due to population growth, together with anthropogenic activities have polluted and depleted drinking water worldwide. Therefore, efforts been made develop physico-chemical operations for its reuse. However, the traditional implementation of inorganic compounds has generated collateral effects on human health environment. Consequently, plant species used remove pollutants from asan economical ef...

Calcium oxalate crystallites occur very often in the plants tissues and their role is still poorly known. We report here the experimental protocol leading to the isolation of two forms of calcium oxalate crystallites differing in their hydration level in the parenchymal tissues of Opuntia ficus indica (Miller). Whereas the whewellite crystallites are habitual in all Opuntia species, the weddell...

Prickly pear fruits constituted valuable foodstuff for humans and animals in arid and semi-arid regions. Two species of prickly pear from Tunisia, Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia stricta, were investigated for fatty acid composition and physicochemical parameters of the seed oil. No significant difference in either physical or chemical parameters was found between the species. The main fatty a...