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Review
. 2024 Apr 25;16(9):1282.
doi: 10.3390/nu16091282.

Usefulness of Opuntia spp. on the Management of Obesity and Its Metabolic Co-Morbidities

Iker Gómez-García  1 , Alfredo Fernández-Quintela  1   2   3 , Marcela González  4 , Saioa Gómez-Zorita  1   2   3 , Begoña Muguerza  5 , Jenifer Trepiana  1   2   3 , María P Portillo  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Usefulness of Opuntia spp. on the Management of Obesity and Its Metabolic Co-Morbidities

Iker Gómez-García et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The plants of the Opuntia genus mainly grow in arid and semi-arid climates. Although the highest variety of wild species is found in Mexico, Opuntia spp. is widely distributed throughout the world. Extracts of these cacti have been described as important sources of bioactive substances that can have beneficial properties for the prevention and treatment of certain metabolic disorders. The objective of this review is to summarise the presently available knowledge regarding Opuntia ficus-indica (nopal or prickly pear), and some other species (O. streptacantha and O. robusta) on obesity and several metabolic complications. Current data show that Opuntia ficus-indica products used in preclinical studies have a significant capacity to prevent, at least partially, obesity and certain derived co-morbidities. On this subject, the potential beneficial effects of Opuntia are related to a reduction in oxidative stress and inflammation markers. Nevertheless, clinical studies have evidenced that the effects are highly contingent upon the experimental design. Moreover, the bioactive compound composition of nopal extracts has not been reported. As a result, there is a lack of information to elucidate the mechanisms of action responsible for the observed effects. Accordingly, further studies are needed to demonstrate whether Opuntia products can represent an effective tool to prevent and/or manage body weight and some metabolic disorders.

Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica; Opuntia spp.; metabolic co-morbidities; nopal; obesity; prickly pear.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphical summary of the beneficial effects of Opuntia spp. in plasma (A) and adipose tissue (B) in animal models. TC: total cholesterol, TG: triglycerides, LDL: low-density lipoprotein, TNF-α: tumour necrosis factor-α; ↑: increase; ↓: decrease; +: diet supplementation.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphical summary of the beneficial effects of Opuntia spp. in plasma (A) and adipose tissue (B) in animal models. TC: total cholesterol, TG: triglycerides, LDL: low-density lipoprotein, TNF-α: tumour necrosis factor-α; ↑: increase; ↓: decrease; +: diet supplementation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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