Recent advances in medicinal and nutraceutical properties of cactus products

NAZARENO, M. A.

Coquimbo

Conferencia; IX International Congress on Cactus Pear and Cochineal; 2017

FAO-ICARDA

Cactus plants can be considered as multipurpose crops, since they provide not only food and feed but they are also sources of health-promoting substances. Cactus cladodes, fruits, seeds and flowers have been used as folk medicines in several countries for centuries. Recently, these properties, known by ancient civilizations, have gained interest among the scientific community. Notorious progress has been made by several research groups around the world searching evidences on the medicinal properties of cactus in terms of therapeutic uses and disease prevention. Nowadays, there are numerous reports indicating that the consumption of cactus products may have beneficial effects on consumers? health beyond their nutritive action. The growing demand for nutraceuticals correlates to an increased effort in developing natural products for the prevention of human diseases. Diverse functional foods are prepared to take benefits from the health benefits of cactus cladodes and fruits. Several manufactured products as cereal bars, soups, juices, marmalades, candies and syrups are currently available in the nutraceutical market. Furthermore, worldwide consumer interest is growing in these products prepared using natural ingredients. Cladodes have significant antiulcer effect, protective effect against gastric lesions as well as anti-inflammatory activity. Diet supplementation with cactus pear fruits in healthy humans has shown to decrease the oxidative stress, and, improves their overall antioxidant status. Opuntia cladodes were supplied to decrease cholesterol and triglycerides levels in plasma samples of rats. Experiments in diabetes mellitus non-insulin-dependent patients have confirmed the hypoglycemic effects of Opuntia streptacantha cladodes. Moreover, consumption of cactus young cladodes has shown to reduce obesity and blood glucose. Cactus pear extracts could be a promising alternative in cancer prevention for both normal and high-risk populations and prevention of recurrence in patients with previous cancers. Numerous high value-added products like nutraceutics, cosmetics and functional foods are currently available in the global market.