PHYSICOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF Opuntia cochenillifera AND Opuntia dillenii CLADODES FOR FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS

Increasing consumer awareness of nutrition, health, and sustainability has driven the demand for foods with functional properties. In this context, species of the genus Opuntia have emerged as promising raw materials due to their nutritional composition, high fiber content, and the presence of bioactive compounds. However, differences in chemical composition among species may influence their antioxidant properties and technological potential. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the physicochemical composition and antioxidant capacity of Opuntia cochenillifera and Opuntia dillenii cladodes in order to contribute to the valorization of these species as sources of bioactive compounds. The cladodes were characterized for moisture, ash, lipid, protein, and carbohydrate contents, as well as water activity, using official analytical methods. Proximate composition was expressed as g/100 g of fresh sample. Antioxidant capacity was assessed using the ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP assays, with results expressed as μmol of Trolox equivalents/g of fresh sample. Analyses were performed in triplicate across three independent assays, and results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Differences were assessed using Student’s t-test (p < 0.05). The results revealed differences in the proximate composition between the evaluated species. Opuntia cochenillifera exhibited higher moisture (95.18 ± 0.85) and lipid (2.00 ± 0.12) contents but lower ash (0.60 ± 0.14), protein (0.35 ± 0.02), and carbohydrate (1.85 ± 0.39) contents than Opuntia dillenii, which exhibited lower moisture (91.51 ± 0.74) and lipid (1.27 ± 0.43) contents and higher ash (2.14 ± 0.20), protein (0.70 ± 0.01), and carbohydrate (4.38 ± 0.31) contents. Water activity remained high and similar between the species (0.97 ± 0.01). Regarding antioxidant capacity, O. cochenillifera exhibited greater antioxidant capacity in the ABTS assay (2.48 ± 0.15) than O. dillenii (0.66 ± 0.03), with a significant difference between the species. In the DPPH assay, values of 4.45 ± 0.22 and 4.23 ± 0.08 were obtained for O. cochenillifera and O. dillenii, respectively, indicating similar results between the samples. Similarly, the FRAP assay yielded comparable values of 0.93 ± 0.04 for O. cochenillifera and 1.00 ± 0.05 for O. dillenii. The antioxidant capacity of the cladodes varied according to the method employed, reflecting the complexity of the underlying mechanisms of action. The higher value obtained for O. cochenillifera in the ABTS assay indicates a greater capacity to neutralize the ABTS•+ radical. In contrast, the DPPH and FRAP results were similar between the species. These findings support the use of both Opuntia species as sustainable sources of natural antioxidants and reinforce their potential for the development of functional foods and biotechnological products.

Financial support of FAPESQ-PB (Call No. 49/2024), CNPq Universal Call No. 44/2024 – Emerging Research Groups (Track A), and the INOVCACT project - FINEP (Brazil) - Grant reference: 2667/22.