Pharmaceutical uses of cactus pear fruits and cladodes

NAZARENO, M. A.

Al Baha- Arabia Saudita KSA

Workshop; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) National Workshop on: ?Cactus pear: Development and sustainability?; 2022

KSA Ministerio Saudita de Ambiente, Agua y Agricultura (Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, MEWA)

Cacti are good sources of bioactive molecules of nutritional and medicinal interest. Since ancient times, cacti have been used as multipurpose plants. These plants not only provide food and forage; they also have numerous other uses, being widely used in construction, and more recently, they have been processed to generate energy. Among the most relevant, nutritional and medicinal properties of cactus products aroused great interest from the scientific and industrial sectors. Its fruits, cladodes, seeds, and flowers are good sources of nutrients and other active phytochemicals, which have various medicinal properties; therefore, it is possible to use them to take advantage of their functionality and add value to cactus products. Such medicinal properties, known to ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, have gained interest among the scientific community in recent years. This presentation will describe the traditional uses of cactus products for therapeutic and preventive actions, as well as the latest advances in scientific studies and discoveries related to the most active components, their analysis, and identification. In addition, the new future perspectives of the cactus products industry and some examples of functional foods and nutraceuticals prepared from cacti, which are currently available in the market, will be presented.