The Effect of Chemical Composition of Wild Opuntia Ficus Indica Byproducts on its Nutritional Quality, Antioxidant and Antifungal Efficacy

Wild Opuntia ficus-indica is a plant commonly grown in the desert. This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition; fatty acids, macro and micro-elements, vitamin C, total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Opuntia Ficus indica byproducts (cladodes and fruit peels) on its nutritional quality, as well as, their antimicrobial, and antioxidant efficacy. Dietary fiber was 30.68 ± 5.28 in peels and 25.65 ± 3.07 in cladodes. The total phenolic content for each byproduct was estimated as 520±2.64 and 788±1.35 mg GAE/g for fruit peels and cladodes, respectively. Whereas flavonoids were estimated as 65.7±3.41 and 25.36 ± 1.55 mg Cat., /g for fruit peels and cladodes respectively. Results reflected considerable content of microelements and omega fatty acids. Eicosadionic was the major fatty acid component and it recorded 32.1 and 38.4% for fruit peel and cladodes, respectively. Byproducts extract demonstrated an efficiency against bacteria and toxigenic fungi. Inhibition impact of byproducts was very clear on Fusarium fungi using diffusion assay on agar media. The unique chemical composition and distinctive minor components of cladodes and peels reflected distinguishing bioactivity against harmful food-microorganisms. This could benefit for food safety particularly against toxigenic fungi. It could be concluded that Opuntia Ficus indica byproducts are promising for the application in the food industry