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Review
. 2023 May 23;12(11):2092.
doi: 10.3390/foods12112092.

Pereskia aculeata Miller as a Novel Food Source: A Review

Naaman Francisco Nogueira Silva  1   2 , Sérgio Henrique Silva  2 , Daniel Baron  1 , Isabelle Cristina Oliveira Neves  1 , Federico Casanova  3
Affiliations
Review

Pereskia aculeata Miller as a Novel Food Source: A Review

Naaman Francisco Nogueira Silva et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Pereskia aculeata Miller is an edible plant species belonging to the Cactaceae family. It has the potential to be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries due to its nutritional characteristics, bioactive compounds, and mucilage content. Pereskia aculeata Miller is native to the Neotropical region, where it is traditionally employed as food in rural communities, being popularly known as 'ora-pro-nobis' (OPN) or the Barbados gooseberry. The leaves of OPN are distinguished by their nontoxicity and nutritional richness, including, on a dry basis, 23% proteins, 31% carbohydrates, 14% minerals, 8% lipids, and 4% soluble dietary fibers, besides vitamins A, C, and E, and phenolic, carotenoid, and flavonoid compounds. The OPN leaves and fruits also contain mucilage composed of arabinogalactan biopolymer that presents technofunctional properties such as thickener, gelling, and emulsifier agent. Moreover, OPN is generally used for pharmacological purposes in Brazilian folk medicine, which has been attributed to its bioactive molecules with metabolic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. Therefore, in the face of the growing research and industrial interests in OPN as a novel food source, the present work reviews its botanical, nutritional, bioactive, and technofunctional properties, which are relevant for the development of healthy and innovative food products and ingredients.

Keywords: bioactive molecules; functional properties; mucilage; ora-pro-nobis; plant proteins; sustainable protein sources.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A,B) Flowers and (C,D) leaves of Pereskia aculeata Mill.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Green fruit and (B) mature fruit of Pereskia aculeata Mill.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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