Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Sep;62(3):107-12.
doi: 10.1007/s11130-007-0049-5. Epub 2007 Aug 3.

Physicochemical characterization of nopal pads (Opuntia ficus indica) and dry vacuum nopal powders as a function of the maturation

M E Rodríguez-Garcia  1 , C de Lira, E Hernández-Becerra, M A Cornejo-Villegas, A J Palacios-Fonseca, I Rojas-Molina, R Reynoso, L C Quintero, A Del-Real, T A Zepeda, C Muñoz-Torres
Affiliations

Physicochemical characterization of nopal pads (Opuntia ficus indica) and dry vacuum nopal powders as a function of the maturation

M E Rodríguez-Garcia et al. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2007 Sep.

Abstract

This paper presents the physicochemical and nutrimental characterization of fresh nopal (Opuntia ficus indica, Redonda variety) and nopal powder produced at different stages of development. Nopal powder was obtained by dry vacuum technique using 10(2) Torr and low temperature (40 degrees C). The results showed that the nutrimental and mineral composition of nopal changes as a function of the maturation as follow: The ash content increases from 18.41 for nopalitos (60 g of weight) to 23.24% (nopal pads 200 g); calcium content increases from 1.52 to 3.72%, while phosphorous exhibits an opposite trend: 0.43 to 0.27%, respectively. Calcium oxalate was determined by X-ray diffraction and SEM microscopy and quantified by using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Calcium oxalate decreases from 7.95 to 3.47 mg/g and the Ca/P ratio varies from 3.6 to 11. The soluble fibre decreases from 25.22 to 14.91%, while insoluble fibre increases from 29.87 to 41.65%. These results suggest that nopal could be an important source of minerals within the diets of people in Mexico and the rest of Latin America.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. J Ethnopharmacol. 1996 Dec;55(1):27-33 - PubMed
    1. Nutr Res Rev. 1993 Jan;6(1):71-95 - PubMed
    1. Plant Physiol. 2002 Feb;128(2):707-13 - PubMed
    1. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 1988;38(1):83-93 - PubMed
    1. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2006 Sep;61(3):115-9 - PubMed

Publication types