The genus Opuntia is a valuable forage resource in arid and semiarid lands during periods of drought and shortage of herbaceous plants. However, absolute minimum temperatures in the plains of Mendoza represent a limiting factor to cultivate several species. Opuntia ellisiana is a cold hardy species, so the goals of this study were to massively propagate is using in vitro culture techniques, and...

Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) belongs to the family Cactaceae. Family Cactaceae is reported to contain about 130 genera and nearly 1500 species. This plant is native of Mexico and it is widely distributed in Mexico and in all American hemispheres as well as in Africa and in the Mediterranean basin. It has been used in traditional folk medicine because of its role in treating a number of disease...

AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of OpunDia (Opuntia ficus-indica) in obese pre-diabetic men and women. MATERIALS AND METHODS This double-blind placebo controlled study included participants (age range of 20-50 years) randomly assigned to one of the two groups and given a 16-week supply of either the 200 mg OpunDia (n=15), or placebo (n=14)....

The nopal cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) releases a substance through its mucilage, which comes from the degradation of pectic substances and chlorophyll. Combined in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix, this substance can be used as a recording medium. The resulting extract material has excellent photosensitizer properties, is easy to handle, has a low cost, and low toxicity. This material has the prope...

Opuntia ficus indica is a source of vitamins and minerals, recently, it has been used as ingredient to make new functional pasta. Italy produces the highest amount pasta in world also second-highest producer opuntia globally. This study sought identify consumer willingness pay for featuring understand what factors influence their choice. first food research analyze consumers’ indica. Data were ...

BACKGROUND The cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica (prickly pear cactus) have a low protein content; for use as a balanced feed, supplementation with other protein sources is therefore desirable. We investigated protein enrichment by cultivation of the yeasts Candida utilis and Kluyveromyces marxianus in an enzymatic hydrolysate of the cladode biomass. RESULTS Dilute acid pretreatment and enzyma...