Betalain, Acid Ascorbic, Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Properties of Purple, Red, Yellow and White Cactus Pears

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Mar໚ Teresa Sumaya-Martínez²  Sandra Cruz-Jaime¹  Eduardo Madrigal-Santillán¹  Juan Diego Garc໚-Paredes²  Raquel Cariño-Cortés¹  Nelly Cruz-Cansino¹  Carmen Valadez-Vega¹  Leonardo Martinez-Cardenas² 

[1] Institute of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, 42080 Pachuca de Soto, Hgo, Mexico; E-Mails:;Secretary of Research and Graduate Studies, Autonomous University of Nayarit, Ciudad de la Cultura “Amado Nervo”, Boulevard Tepic-Xalisco S/N. Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico; E-Mails:

关键词: antioxidant activity;    cactus pears;    betalain;    phenolic compounds;    ascorbic acid;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms12106452

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Commercialization of cactus pears based on their antioxidant properties can generate competitive advantages, and these can turn into business opportunities and the development of new products and a high-value ingredient for the food industry. This work evaluated the antioxidant activities (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging, protection against oxidation of a β-carotene-linoleic acid emulsion, and iron (II) chelation), the content of total phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, betacyanin, betaxanthin and the stability of betacyanin pigments in presence of Cu (II)-dependent hydroxyl radicals (OH•), in 18 cultivars of purple, red, yellow and white cactus pear from six Mexican states. Our results indicated that the antiradical activities from yellow and white cactus pear cultivars were not significantly different (p < 0.05) and were lower than the average antiradical activities in red and purple cultivars. The red cactus pear from the state of Zacatecas showed the highest antioxidant activity. The free radical scavenging activity for red cactus pears was significantly correlated (p < 0.05) to the concentration of total phenolic compounds (R² = 0.90) and ascorbic acid (R² = 0.86). All 18 cultivars of cactus pears studied showed significant chelating activity of ferrous ions. The red and purple cactus pears showed a great stability when exposed to OH•.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.