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Global Research Trends on the Utilization of Nopal (Opuntia Sp) Cladodes as a Functional Ingredient for Industrial Use

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Abstract

Although nopal cladodes are a valuable bioactive compound source, they have historically been underused. This review draws a parallel between quantitative and qualitative data from the most outstanding scientific research concerning nopal cladodes in the last five years by implementing a bibliometric analysis. Italy, Mexico, Brazil, and Morocco accounted for approximately 55% of the 111 articles selected for this review. Nopal cladodes are a great source of nourishing ingredients such as mucilage, pectin, insoluble fibers, minerals, ascorbic acid, and bioactive compounds such as carotenoids (e.g., β-carotene, lutein, and cryptoxanthin), flavonoids (e.g., isorhamnetin, quercetin, rutin, and catechin), phytosterols (e.g., β-sitosterol and β-campesterol). Additionally, they offer technological benefits as a food ingredient, allied to good sensory acceptability. The findings suggest that medium-aged cladodes (20 days) have the highest concentration of soluble fiber, protein, and bioactive compounds, rendering them the optimal maturity stage for consumption and processing. Therefore, nopal cladodes can be exploited for several industries, including biotechnology, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, and they have attracted attention as a promising ingredient for the food industry in the concept of the next generation of innovative and functional vegetable foods.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff and facilities of the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), São Paulo University (USP-RP) and Federal University of Ceará (UFC).

Funding

This research work was funded and supported by the Research Support Foundation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) (code E-26/010/002738/2019; code E-26/211.985/2021; code E-26/201.428/2022) and by the National Council for Scientific and Technological (CNPq – Brazil, code 001) through scholarship funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food and Nutrition Graduate Program, Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Patrícia Marques de Farias, Julia Rabelo Vaz Matheus & Ana Elizabeth Cavalcante Fai

  2. Laboratory of Multidisciplinary Practices for Sustainability, Department of Basic and Experimental Nutrition, Institute of Nutrition, State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Maracanã Campus, São Francisco Xavier Av., 524, 12th floor, room 12006 D, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, 20550-900, Brazil

    Patrícia Marques de Farias & Ana Elizabeth Cavalcante Fai

  3. Department of Food Engineering, Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Lucicleia Barros de Vasconcelos

  4. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil

    Delia R. Tapia-Blácido

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  1. Patrícia Marques de Farias
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  2. Julia Rabelo Vaz Matheus
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Contributions

P. M. F.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Data curation, Gathered and Interpreted background literature, Writing - review & editing, Visualization. J. R. V. M.: Methodology, Data analysis, Writing the manuscript-original draft, Validation. (A) E. C. F.: Validation, Resources, Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition. L. (B) V.: Visualization, Validation. D. R. TB.: Validation, Writing - review & editing, Project administration, Supervision.

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Correspondence to Ana Elizabeth Cavalcante Fai.

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de Farias, P.M., Matheus, J.R.V., Fai, A.E.C. et al. Global Research Trends on the Utilization of Nopal (Opuntia Sp) Cladodes as a Functional Ingredient for Industrial Use. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 78, 621–629 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-023-01113-2

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