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
. 2018 Aug 20:62.
doi: 10.29219/fnr.v62.1262. eCollection 2018.

Short-term cactus pear [ Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill] fruit supplementation ameliorates the inflammatory profile and is associated with improved antioxidant status among healthy humans

Alessandro Attanzio  1 , Luisa Tesoriere  1 , Sonya Vasto  1 , Anna Maria Pintaudi  1 , Maria A Livrea  1 , Mario Allegra  1
Affiliations

Short-term cactus pear [ Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill] fruit supplementation ameliorates the inflammatory profile and is associated with improved antioxidant status among healthy humans

Alessandro Attanzio et al. Food Nutr Res. .

Abstract

Background: Dietary ingredients and food components are major modifiable factors protecting immune system and preventing the progression of a low-grade chronic inflammation responsible for age-related diseases.

Objective: Our study explored whether cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica, Surfarina cultivar) fruit supplementation modulates plasma inflammatory biomarkers in healthy adults. Correlations between inflammatory parameters and antioxidant status were also assessed in parallel.

Design: In a randomised, 2-period (2 weeks/period), crossover, controlled-feeding study, conducted in 28 healthy volunteers [mean age 39.96 (±9.15) years, BMI 23.1 (±1.5) kg/m2], the effects of a diet supplemented with cactus pear fruit pulp (200 g, twice a day) were compared with those of an equivalent diet with isocaloric fresh fruit substitution.

Results: With respect to control, cactus pear diet decreased ( p < 0.05) the pro-inflammatory markers such as tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, interferon-γ (INF)-γ, IL-8, C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), whereas it increased ( p < 0.05) the anti-inflammatory marker IL-10. Moreover, the diet decreased ratios between pro-inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory biomarker (IL-10) ( p < 0.05). Cactus pear supplementation caused an increase ( p < 0.05) in dermal carotenoids (skin carotenoid score, SCS), a biomarker of the body antioxidant status, with correlations between SCS and CRP (r = -0.905, p < 0.0001), IL-8 (r = -0.835, p < 0.0001) and IL-10 (r = 0.889, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: The presently observed modulation of both inflammatory markers and antioxidant balance suggests cactus pear fruit as a novel and beneficial component to be incorporated into current healthy dietary habits.

Keywords: antioxidant network; cactus pear fruit; healthy subjects; inflammatory biomarkers; skin carotenoids.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scheme of participant flow through the study.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Plasma ESR and CRP values of the subjects enrolled at baseline, after CPD and after CD. All values are the mean ± SD of separate determinations performed in triplicate on samples from different subjects, n = 28. Labelled means without a common letter differ with a p < 0.05. One-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparison test.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Plasma cytokine levels of the subjects enrolled at baseline, after CPD and after CD. All values are the mean ± SD of separate determinations performed in triplicate on samples from different subjects, n = 28. Within each set, asterisks indicate that means differ with a p < 0.05. One-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparison test.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
SCS values of the subjects enrolled at baseline, after CPD and after CD. All values are the mean ± SD of separate determinations performed in triplicate on samples from different subjects, n = 28. Labelled means without a common letter differ with a p < 0.05. One-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparison test.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Correlation between changes of SCS and IL-10 (a), CRP (b) and IL-8 (c) values of the subjects enrolled at baseline and after CPD. All values are the mean ± SD of separate determinations performed in triplicate on samples from different subjects, n = 28. The Pearson’s correlation coefficients and p-values are stated in the corresponding plots.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Neale EP, Batterham MJ, Tapsell LC. Consumption of a healthy dietary pattern results in significant reductions in C-reactive protein levels in adults: a meta-analysis. Nutr Res 2016; 36(5): 391–401. - PubMed
    1. Calder PC, Ahluwalia N, Albers R, Bosco N, Bourdet-Sicard R, Haller D, et al. . A consideration of biomarkers to be used for evaluation of inflammation in human nutritional studies. Br J Nutr 2013; 109(Suppl 1): S1–34. - PubMed
    1. Danesh J, Kaptoge S, Mann AG, Sarwar N, Wood A, Angleman SB, et al. . Long-term interleukin-6 levels and subsequent risk of coronary heart disease: two new prospective studies and a systematic review. PLoS Med 2008; 5(4): e78. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Clearfield MB. C-reactive proteIn: a new risk assessment tool for cardiovascular disease. J Am Osteopath Assoc 2005; 105(9): 409–16. - PubMed
    1. Sabat R, Grutz G, Warszawska K, Kirsch S, Witte E, Wolk K, et al. . Biology of interleukin-10. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev 2010; 21(5): 331–44. - PubMed