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
Review
. 2021 Aug 19;26(16):5018.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26165018.

Prickly Pear Seed Oil Extraction, Chemical Characterization and Potential Health Benefits

Ghanya Al-Naqeb  1   2 , Luca Fiori  1   3 , Marco Ciolli  1   3 , Eugenio Aprea  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Prickly Pear Seed Oil Extraction, Chemical Characterization and Potential Health Benefits

Ghanya Al-Naqeb et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) is a member of the Cactaceae family originally grown in South America, and the plant is now distributed to many parts of the world, including the Middle East. The chemical composition and biological activities of different parts of prickly pear, including cladodes, flowers, fruit, seeds and seed oil, were previously investigated. Oil from the seeds has been known for its nutritive value and can be potentially used for health promotion. This review is an effort to cover what is actually known to date about the prickly pear seeds oil extraction, characteristics, chemical composition and potential health benefits to provide inspiration for the need of further investigation and future research. Prickly pear seeds oil has been extracted using different extraction techniques from conventional to advanced. Chemical characterization of the oil has been sufficiently studied, and it is sufficiently understood that the oil is a high linoleic oil. Its composition is influenced by the variety and environment and also by the method of extraction. The health benefits of the prickly pear seed oil were reported by many researchers. For future research, additional studies are warranted on mechanisms of action of the reported biological activities to develop nutraceutical products for the prevention of various chronic human diseases.

Keywords: biological activity; chemical characterization; extraction; prickly pear seed oil.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preparation of prickly pear seeds for oil extraction [20,21].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schottenol (a) and spinasterol (b) structure presented in prickly pear seed oil. Sourced from El Kharrassi et al. [42].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structural formulas of phenolic compounds identified in prickly pear seed oil. Image from [44].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Chemical structures of pheophytin and lutein fractions in prickly pear seeds oil. Image from [17].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. El Mannoubi I., Barrek S., Skanji T., Casabianca H., Zarrouk H. Characterization of Opuntia ficus indica seed oil from Tunisia. Chem. Nat. Compd. 2009;45:616. doi: 10.1007/s10600-009-9448-1. - DOI
    1. Taoufik F., Zine S., El Hadek M., Idrissi Hassani L.M., Gharby S., Harhar H., Matthäus B. Oil content and main constituents of cactus seed oils opuntia ficus indica of different origin in Morocco. Mediterr. J. Nutr. Metab. 2015;8:85–92. doi: 10.3233/MNM-150036. - DOI
    1. Berraaouan A., Ziyyat A., Mekhfi H., Legssyer A., Sindic M., Aziz M., Bnouham M. Evaluation of antidiabetic properties of cactus pear seed oil in rats. Pharm. Biol. 2014;52:1286–1290. doi: 10.3109/13880209.2014.890230. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ramadan M.F., Mörsel J.-T. Oil cactus pear (Opuntia-indica L.) Food Chem. 2003;82:339–345. doi: 10.1016/S0308-8146(02)00550-2. - DOI
    1. Berraaouan A., Abderrahim Z., Hassane M., Abdelkhaleq L., Mohammed A., Mohamed B. Evaluation of protective effect of cactus pear seed oil (Opuntia ficus-indica L. MILL.) against alloxan-induced diabetes in mice. Asian Pac. J. Trop. Med. 2015;8:532–537. doi: 10.1016/j.apjtm.2015.06.013. - DOI - PubMed