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Pharmacognosy Journal, Vol 11, Issue 3, May-June, 2019
1
Original Article
Pharmacogn J. 2019; 11(3):
A Multifaceted Journal in the eld of Natural Products and Pharmacognosy
www.phcogj.com
Cite this article: Ali Alsaad AJ, Altemimi AB, Aziz SN, Lakhssassi N. Extraction and Identification
of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benefits. Pharmacog
J. 2019; 11(3):
Extraction and Identication of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil
and its Added Value for Human Health Benets
Alya Jameel Ali Alsaad1, Ammar B Altemimi1*, Salah Naji Aziz1, Naoufal Lakhssassi2
INTRODUCTION
Cactus Opuntia dillenii is massively grown in the
South of Iraq, especially in Basrah city (Al-Fao).
Cactus belongs to the dicotyledonous angiosperm
Cactaceae family that includes about 1500 species
of cactus worldwide. Due to its acidic taste and
the presence of a large number of seeds within the
fruit, cactus is not widely used for consumption.
However, recent studies have highlighted the
presence of multiple benets for human health and
medicine in natural cactus.1,2 It has been shown that
Opuntia dillenii has anti-inammatory, analgesic,
anti-hyperglycemia, and hypocholesterolemic
eects.3,4 During the last decade, consumer demand
for food with high nutritional value has increased
as a result of their high-fat (fatty acids) content, as
well as health benets, which have created a new
category known as ʺfunctional foodsʺ.5,6 Cactus is
rich in minerals with inorganic nutrients including
calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, copper, and
zinc usually required in small amounts (1 to 2500
mg per day). Humans and other vertebrates need
large amounts of calcium because it is necessary
for bone and for normal function of nerves and
muscles.7 Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and acid-
base balance does not occur without the presence
of phosphorus, which is essential for nucleic acid
composition.8 In addition, red blood cells cannot
function properly without iron in the hemoglobin.
Iron is also an important component of the
cytochromes that function in the cellular respiration
process.7 Other minerals like magnesium, copper,
and zinc are important cofactors that can be found in
the structure of certain enzymes and indispensable
in numerous biochemical pathways.9
Oil-seed content from O. ficus-indica (prickly pears)
ranges from 5.0% to 14.4% according to the Turkish
varieties Ortaoren or Eskioba Matth¨aus. e seeds
of Opuntia dillenii were used as high-quality edible
oil with health benets as they contains high
amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. e main fatty
acids of the 17 cactus oil samples from Morocco are
palmitic acid and linoleic acid.10 Cactus Pear seed-
oil contains saturated and unsaturated fatty acids,
with higher linoleic acid content, while myristic,
palmitoleic, hexa-decadienoic, and margaric are
present in minimal amounts. Opuntia dillenii
seed-oil also includes phenolic acids, avonoids,
and tannins that are considered as antioxidants
for the pharmaceutical industry.11 e fatty acid
composition of this oil is an essential indicator for
its added nutritional value.12 Supplementation of
bakery products like cake, that present a rich source
of energy and protein, with butter of Cactus seed-oil
will further help in improving its nutritional value
and chemical qualities. Development of value added
products from diverse raw ingredients is receiving
the prime focus of the food processing industry and
by researchers.13,14
ABSTRACT
Cactus Opuntia dillenii presents multiple health benefits. The current study aims to investigate
the seed composition and content of prickly pear fruits from Iraq. Results obtained showed
that Opuntia dillenii contained 9.5% of seeds of the entire fruit while extracted oil presented
6.5% of total seed composition. Fatty acid analysis revealed that the polyunsaturated linoleic
acid (72.9%), the saturated palmitic acid (15.12%) and stearic acid (7.51%) presented the main
seed fatty acids of Opuntia dilleniid. Other essential oils were detected but at low percentage.
Interestingly, stearic acid content in Cactus oil presented 7.51%, which is much higher than
soybeans (~3%) that are considered as the largest source of animal protein feed and the
second largest source of vegetable oil worldwide. Stearic acid presents neutral effects on the
concentration of blood serum LDL cholesterol and does not exhibit cholesterolemic effects on
human health. The analysis of cactus seed oil demonstrated a strong antioxidant ability estimated
by their capability to reduce oxidation. Treated cake with BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) at
concentration of 0.02 mg/100g of butter from cactus seed-oil exhibited lower peroxide values
ranging from 0.67 to 1.5 milli-equivalents (meq) peroxide per 1 kg of oil throughout 15 days of
storage time at 4 °C. In contrast, treated cake with 0.11 mg/100g of butter from cactus seed-oil
presented lower peroxide values ranged from 0.69 to 2.5 meq peroxide per 1 kg of oil among
all treatments. Because of its high-saturated fatty acid composition (>22%) and rich linoleic
acid (72.9%) composition, Opuntia dillenii present an alternative source with several health
benefits by lowering cholesterol risks and for biodiesel production.
Key words: fatty acid, cactus, seed-oil, GC-MS, cake, peroxide value.
Alya Jameel Ali Alsaad1,
Ammar B Altemimi1*, Salah
Naji Aziz1, Naoufal Lakhssassi2
1Department of food science-college of
Agriculture-University of Basrah, IRAQ.
2Department of Plant, Soil and Agricultural
Systems, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, IL 62901, USA.
Correspondence
Ammar B Altemimi
Department of food science-college of
Agriculture-University of Basrah, Iraq
Tel. +9647735640090
E-mail: ammaragr@siu.edu
History
• Submission Date: 29-03-2019;
• Review completed: 08-04-2019;
• Accepted Date: 15-04-2019.
DOI : 10.5530/pj.2019.3.
Article Available online
http://www.phcogj.com/v11/i3
Copyright
© 2019 Phcogj.Com. This is an open-
access article distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International license.
2
Ali Alsaad, et al.: Extraction and Identication of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benets
Pharmacognosy Journal, Vol 11, Issue 3, May-June, 2019
and 1,000 µg/mL). e assay mixture (total volume of 1 mL) contained
500 µL of the oil, 125 µL prepared DPPH (1 mM in methanol) and 375
µL solvent (methanol). Aer 30 min incubation at 25 °C, the decrease
in absorbance was measured at λ = 517nm. Ascorbic acid was used as
comparative sample. e radical scavenging activity was calculated
from the equation: % DPPH = Abscontrol – Abssample/ Abscontr ol ×100
((absorbance of control), Abssamp le (absorbance of sample Abscontrol
Preparation of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME)
Total fatty acid content and fatty acid composition were determined
simultaneously in the fruit’s seeds-oil samples. Fatty acid analysis was
performed in triplicate and consisted of two consecutive steps; (1)
preparation of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and (2) chromatographic
analysis. e AOAC (1996) method was followed to esterify the lipid
extract. FAME was prepared from the lipid extracted samples by heating
with the methanolic NaOH and then with BF3 absolute Methanol for
esterication. Next, 5 ml n-heptane was added to recover the methyl
esters. organic phase, saturated with NaCl solution, was added to the
mixture, and the aqueous and organic layers were separated using a
prole-separating funnel. e upper n-heptane phase was pipetted out
into 10 ml glass vials and then stored at -20 °C until performing GC-
MS analysis.
Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis by gas
chromatography mass spectrometer (GC MS)
e gas chromatography analysis of methylated fatty acids was
performed on a Shimadzu QP2010 quadrupole Gas Chromatography
Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) instrument equipped with a carbowax
(30 m × 0.25 mm ID; 0.25 (μm lm thickness) capillary column
(Intercut DB5MS, Japan). One microliter of sample was injected into
the capillary column. Helium was used as the carrier gas. Injector and
detector temperatures were set at 280 °C. Injection was performed in
split mode (1:30). e column temperature was programmed initially
at 50 °C for 1 minute, then to increase at a rate of 5 °C per min at
nal temperature of 280 °C. Fatty acid methyl esters were separated at
constant pressure (100 kPa) and peaks were identied by comparing
the mass spectra with the mass spectral database. e identication of
compounds was based on the comparisons of their mass spectra with
NIST Library 2008.
Application of cactus seed-oil in cake
Cakes preparation
200 g of our, 120 g of sugar, 100 ml of skimmed milk, 80 g of fresh
whole eggs, 100 g of butter, 8 g of baking powder, and 2 g of vanilla were
used. All ingredients were mixed during 10 min at normal speed using a
Kitchen-Aid Professional Mixer. All of the cake ingredients were placed
into a metallic mold (100 mm diameter and 50 mm height), lightly
coated with vegetable corn oil and next baked in an electric oven for 30
min at 180 °C. Butter was substituted by Cactus seed-oil at 0% (control),
5%, 10%, and 15%. Aer baking, cakes were removed from the mold
and le 30 min for cooling to room temperature. en, cake samples
were placed on coded white glass plates for the sensory evaluation.
Sensory evaluation of cake
Evaluation of baked cake quality characteristics was carried out
following cooling to room temperature. Sensory evaluation was
performed by twenty-specic evaluators from the Department of Food
Science at the College of Agriculture at Basrah University. Cakes were
randomly assigned to each panelist. A 10-point hedonic scale
score was applied to evaluate important parameters including color,
color, texture, taste, odor and overall acceptability.17 e designated
number 10 was given to “I like it extremely well” while number 1 was
given to “I dislike it extremely”.
e main objectives of this study were (1) determination of minerals
compounds from dry seeds Cactus Opuntia dillenii grown in Basrah
city, (2) analyze the extracted seed-oil by GC-MS to determine their
fatty acid composition and other essential oils that may be present, (3)
explore the feasibility of development of added cake value from essential
oils, and (4) determination of the antioxidant activity of Cactus seed-
oil by measuring the peroxide value of the cake to understand the
inhibitory oxidation eect of extracted Cactus seed-oil aer storage by
refrigeration.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample collection and preparation
Mature fruits of prickly pear, Cactus Opuntia dillenii, were collected 6
weeks aer blossoming in August 2017 from Ma’Amir, Al-Fao (Basra,
Iraq) (Figure 1). e cultivated cactus are grown at Ma’Amir (30.027148
deg latitude, 48.436624 deg altitude and 3 feet elevation), at al-Faw
Peninsula in the Persian Gulf, located in the extreme southeast of Iraq,
and is part of a delta for the Shatt al-Arab river. Temperatures typically
vary from 49 °F to 109 °F with very low chance of rain through out the
year. type of soil is silt and sand. Cactus seeds were studied during fruit
ripening.
Fruits were peeled, and seeds were isolated by pressing the edible pulp.
Next, the seeds were washed with distilled water and dried at room
temperature to calculate the percentage of seeds in the edible fraction
(pulp) by taking the weight of the pulp prior to seed-weight. Seeds were
macerated to a ne powder, passed through a sieve with particle size of
0.425 mm and stored at -20 °C until use.9
Determination of mineral compounds
In order to determine the mineral compounds of Opuntia dillenii,
1g weight of dry powder seed was placed in silica dish and then in a
mue furnace. Moreover, samples were burned to ash at 550 °C for 4 h.
Next, samples were cooled and ash dissolved in 5 ml of 2N HNO3, then
ltered and diluted to 50 ml volume in distilled water. e samples were
analyzed in three replicates, and mineral compounds were determined
for calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, copper,
and zinc by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS, USA) as
previously described.15
Essential oil extraction
e essential oil samples were obtained by hydro distillation for 4 h
and 30min in a Clevenger-type apparatus using 50 g of dried seeds in
1 L of distilled water, with three technical replicates. Aer extraction,
the essential oil samples were centrifuged at 5,000rpm for 2 min to
separate the residual water from the oil. To calculate the essential oil
yield content, the total mass of the essential oil sample to be analyzed
was measured using an analytical balance (accurate to 0.0001g).
Determination of antioxidant activity (scavenging
activity of DPPH radical)
e method was carried out as described previously.16 e essential oils
were dissolved in methanol at dierent concentrations (10, 50, 100,500
Figure 1. The Dierent plant tissue tested in the current study. Left to right
are cultivated Cactus Opuntia dillenii plant, fresh fruits, dry fruit, seeds,
extracted oil.
3Pharmacognosy Journal, Vol 11, Issue 3, May-June, 2019
Ali Alsaad, et al.: Extraction and Identication of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benets
Peroxide value determination
e number of peroxide value milli-equivalents (meq) peroxide per
1 kg of oil was measured as described earlier.18 Control and treated
cake with dierent concentrations of seeds oil 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.09,
and 0.11 mg/100g of butter and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) at
concentration of 0.02 mg/100 g of butter, was stored at dierent times
0, 5, 10, and 15 days at 4 ˚C. Next, 1 g of the sample was boiled with 1
g potassium iodide and 20 mL of solvent mixture (Glacial acetic acid
and chloroform [2:1] v/v) for 30 s and then vigorously for another 30 s
before being ltrated to collect the leachate. Leachate was next poured
into 20 mL of 5% potassium iodide and the boiling tube washed twice
with 25 mL of distilled water. Titration was carried out with 0.002 M
of the Na2S2O3 using starch indicator. Blank was similarly titrated.
Peroxide value determination was calculated as follow:
Peroxide value
Where M = mass of oil taken (1 g); V2 = volume of 0.1 N Na2S2O3; V1
= volume of 0.1 N Na2S2O3 used as blank; and T = normality of Na2S2O3
(0.1 N).
Statistical analysis
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out using SPSS program
(version. 16). e cake characteristics with or without seed oil were
analyzed using ANOVA. Means and standard deviation of three
replicates were calculated. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was
performed to determine any signicant dierences (p < 0.05).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Yield percentage of seeds in pulp
Yield percentage analysis showed that the seeds contained in the pulp of
Opuntia dillenii constituted about 9.5% of the fruit pulp. e obtained
seed content was in agreement with those found in the literature,19
which ranges between 2 to 10% of the fruit pulp. Prickly pear seeds
presented 10-15% of the edible pulp and are usually discarded as waste
aer extraction of the pulp as described by Sáenz.20 e edible part of
the fruit contains a relatively large number of seeds, which amount can
vary from 30% to 40% on a dry weight basis. ese seeds are usually
discarded while proper utilization of these waste products could lead
to an important new source of oil and meal.21 Prickly pear seeds are
10-15% of the edible pulp and are usually discarded as waste aer
extraction of the pulp seeds from Opuntia sp. and were shown to be rich
in polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannins. e concentrations of those
molecules were shown usually to be higher than in the fruit pulp.22
Determination of mineral compounds
Analysis of the mineral compounds reveals that Cactus fruit seeds are
rich in minerals, with a predominance of calcium, phosphorus, and
potassium at 280.81, 243.90, and 181.96 mg/100g respectively, as shown
in Table 1. Percentage of magnesium, sodium, and Zinc was 156.94,
28.01, and 52.90 mg/100g, respectively. Copper and iron contained less
amounts with 1.36 and 3.63 mg/100g, respectively. Our results showed
that the macro elements contents of Cactus Opuntia dillenii seeds were
less than those reported in the literature by Ghazi et al. (2015), where
Phosphorus was found to be the major element at 970.15 mg/100 g dry
seeds followed by calcium at 408.28 mg/100g, magnesium at 240.30
mg/100g, potassium at 201.96 mg/100g, and sodium at a lower content
18.18mg/100g, in Cactus Opuntia dillenii seeds.
Essential oil yield
e present study shows that yield percentage of extracted oil from
Cactus Opuntia dillenii was about 6.5%. Stintzing23 reported that seeds
are a relatively untapped source of the lipid fraction, presenting 7 to
15% by weight of the whole seed and is characterized by a high degree
of unsaturation, wherein the linoleic acid is the main fatty acid and
ranged between 56,1% to 77%. Labuschagne and Hugo24 reported that
oil content in Cactus Opuntia dillenii seeds from South Africa was 5.69
%, while Chang25 reported that oil content in Cactus pear seed oil from
China was 6.01%. e two results were close to the obtained results
from the present study. However, oil content from Italian cultivar
was 9.14%,26 and oil content was 11.05% from another cultivar from
Tunisia.9 Compared to other oil-seed crops, Opuntia dillenii presented
lower oil content. Indeed, higher amounts were recovered from cotton
seeds 15–24%, soybean seeds 17–21%, grape seeds 6–20%, and olive
20–25%.27
Antioxidant activity
e potential antioxidant activity of the oil was determined on the basis
of DPPH free radical scavenging activity. e analysis of cactus seed oil
demonstrated a strong antioxidant abilities estimated by their capability
to reduce oxidation. In addition, the obtained results showed the potent
scavenging activity of cactus seed oil compared to the control (ascorbic
acid). e obtained DPPH scavenging activities were 36.5-78.1%
and 46.5- 81.3% for cactus seed oil extraction and ascorbic acid at
concentrations (10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 µg/mL), respectively (Figure
2). e statistical analysis results showed that there was no signicant
dierence (p> 0.05) between cactus seed oil extraction and ascorbic
acid at concentrations 10, 50, and 100 µg/m) for DPPH scavenging
activities. However, there was signicant dierence (p< 0.05) between
cactus seed oil extraction and ascorbic acid at concentration at 500 and
1000 µg/mL for DPPH scavenging activities. e scavenging activities
increased signicantly while increasing the concentration. In fact,
cactus seed oil represents a strong electron donor and could react with
free radicals to convert them to more stable products and terminate the
radical chain reaction. is observed eect could be associated with
high content of phenolic components such as Tocopherols, a natural
occurring antioxidants presenting biological activity.28 e extracted
Opuntia stricta oil using supercritical (SC)‐CO2 method showed high
antioxidant activities due to enriched polyphenols (172.2 ± 11.9 µg gallic
acid equivalents (GAE) g−1oil), aprocess that led to more compounds.29
e cactus seed oil extracts have an important role in treating several
diseases including hypoglycemic eects, anti-tumoral, and antioxidant
activities.30 DPPH scavenging activities increased signicantly with
increasing the concentration of the cactus seed oil and fruit juices from
5 to 20 µL/mL. It has ranged between 24.84 - 53.15% for O. Ficus while
O. dillenii values ranged from 21.04 - 42.6% and ascorbic acid ranged
from 21.02 to 63.85%.31
Analysis of Opuntia dillenii seeds-oil by gas
chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
Gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry analysis revealed
the presence of an interesting prole of fatty acids contained in extrac ted
seed oil from Opuntia dillenii (Figure 3 and Table 2). e current
study reveal that the main fatty acids were 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid
methylester (linoleic acid) with 72.9%, Hexadecanoic acid methyl ester
(palmitic acid) with 15.12%, and the Octadecanoic acid methyl ester
(stearic acid) with 7.51%. Other essential oils were detected but at low
percentages, these include the 1,4-Benzenedicarboxylic acid dimethyl
ester, Methyl tetradecanoate, 9-Hexadecenoic acid methyl ester, cis-
OD Mineral (mg/100 g dry weight)
Minerals Macro elements Trace elements
Ca Mg Na K P Fe Cu Zn
280.81 156.94 28.01 181.96 243.90 3.63 1.36 52.90
Table 1: Distribution and content of minerals in Cactus Opuntia dillenii
seeds expressed as mg/100 g dry weight.
4
Ali Alsaad, et al.: Extraction and Identication of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benets
Pharmacognosy Journal, Vol 11, Issue 3, May-June, 2019
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
10 50 100 500 1000
% DPPH scavenging ac�vity
Con. µg/mL
seeds oil
Ascorbic acid
a
b a
b
a
b
a
a
a
a
Figure 2: Antioxidant activity of Cactus seed-oil.
Figure 3: GC-MS chromatogram of fatty acids of Cactus Opuntia dillenii seed-oil.
11-Eicosenoic acid methyl ester, cis-13-Eicosenoic acid methyl ester,
Methyl 18-methylnonadecanoate, and Methyl 11-docosenoate. e
obtained results showed that Cactus Opuntia dillenii seed-oil was rich
in fatty acids. e saturated fatty acids identied include palmitic acid
(C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0) with levels containing up to 22.63%
saturated fatty acids, while high levels of the poly-unsaturated omega-6
linoleic acid (C18:2) exceeding 72.9% were obtained.
Filip32 reported that the level of fatty acids in Opuntia dillenii seed
oil is higher than in sunower seed oil, grape seed oil, or sesames
seed oil. Omega-6 like linoleic acid and arachidonic acid present
a hypocholesterolemic eect and present important inhibitory
properties against colon cancer metastatic cells.33 ree types of
sunower seed oil were developed; high-oleic, mid-oleic and low-oleic
(FAO). Consequently, the linoleic acid content is high in low oleic
germplasms but is low in high oleic sunower seed oil. Dierences
between the oil content of cactus seeds from dierent locations can
be explained by dierences in growing locations and environmental
conditions.28 Opuntia dillenii seed-oil presents higher proportion of
poly-unsaturated fats (linoleic acid) compared to certain conventional
edible vegetable oils such as olive oil (3.5 - 21%), soybean oil (49.7%),
corn oil (47.7%), sesame oil (44.5%), sun flower oil (49.7%), and cotton
oil (50.0%).34-36 ese characteristics illustrate that Opuntia dillenii may
be an interesting natural source of edible oil containing high amounts
of healthy fatty acids. e obtained seed-oil contents were in agreement
with those found in the literature.37 Although poly-unsaturated fatty
acids like (linoleic acid) are predominant, many reports have shown
that saturated fatty acids (i.e. palmitic and stearic acids) were found in
percentages ranging from (16 - 17%). ese results were in agreement
with recently published studies by Ghazi8 where the linoleic acid was the
dominating fatty acid with an exceptional level up to 79.83%, followed
by palmitic acid (13.52%), and stearic acid (2.75%) resulting in 16.27%
saturated fatty acids. e current study shows that Cactus Opuntia
dillenii contains similar amounts of linoleic acid levels (72.9%), but
5Pharmacognosy Journal, Vol 11, Issue 3, May-June, 2019
Ali Alsaad, et al.: Extraction and Identication of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benets
P R.Tim Area Area% Name Formula MW Ret
Index
1 8.71 3466 0.09 Eucalyptol C10H18O 154 1059
2 14.26 16639 0.46 3-Cyclohexene1-methanol,.alpha.,.alpha.,4-trimethyl-, acetate C12H20O2 196 1333
3 16.36 2600 0.07 1,4-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, dimethylester C10H10O4 194 1440
4 19.09 4946 0.14 Methyltetradecanoate C15H30O2 242 1680
5 21.35 35624 0.98 9-Hexadecenoic acid, methylester,(Z)- C17H32O2 268 1886
6 21.62 552445 15.12 Hexadecanoic acid, methylester C17H32O2 268 1886
7 22.32 2704 0.07 cis-10-Heptadecenoic acid, methylester C18H34O2 282 1986
8 22.55 3303 0.09 Heptadecanoic acid, methylester C18H36O2 284 1978
9 23.24 2662843 72.90 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid(Z,Z)-, methylester C19H34O2 294 2093
10 23.43 274318 7.51 Octadecanoic acid, methylester C19H38O2 298 2077
11 24.46 2295 0.06 Cyclopropaneoctanoic acid, 2-[[2-[(2- C22H38O2 334 2266
12 24.65 19462 0.53 cis-11-Eicosenoic acid, methylester C21H40O2 324 2284
13 24.70 10616 0.29 cis-13-Eicosenoic acid, methylester C21H40O2 324 2284
14 24.83 27387 0.75 Methyl18-methylnonadecanoate C21H42O2 326 2212
15 25.960 7648 0.21 Methyl11-docosenoate C21H40O2 324 2284
16 26.06 14292 0.39 Methyl20-methyl-heneicosanoate C23H46O2 354 2411
17 26.62 2069 0.06 Methyl20-methyl-docosanoate C24H48O2 368 2510
18 27.16 6757 0.19 Tetracosanoic acid, methylester C25H50O2 382 2674
19 27.242 675771 Terephthalic acid, di(2-ethylhexyl)ester C24H38O4 390 2704
3652550 100.00
Table 2. Fatty acid content identied in Cactus Opuntia dillenii seed-oil.
Total major saturated FA Total major unsaturated FA Unsaturated/Saturated FA ratio
Cactus Opuntia dillenii 22.63% 72.9% 3.22%
Table 3: The total saturated and unsaturated Fatty acid content unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio identied in Cactus Opuntia dillenii seed-oil.
higher amounts of total saturated fatty acids 22.63%, with unsaturated/
saturated major fatty acid ratio of 3.22 (Table 3). Moreover, in another
study, it has been reported that linolenic acid constituted the main fatty
acid (66.56%), followed by palmitic acid (19.78%), stearic acid (9.01%),
and linoleic acid (2.65%) in Cactus Opuntia dillenii.33 e prole of fatty
acid extracted from dierent Cactus Opuntia dillenii varieties grown
in dierent regions worldwide is more likely due to the interaction
between genetics and dierent environment which impact very much
the fatty acid content of dierent oil seed plants.
In the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, the oleic acid content, which
is synthesized from stearic acid by the Stearoyl-Acyl Carrier Protein
Desaturase (SACPD) and at the same time is considered as the
precursor of the linoleic acid (by the Fatty acid desaturases (FAD2),
was very low in Cactus Opuntia dillenii seeds. is could be explained
by the high activity of the FAD2 enzyme in converting most of the
synthesized oleic acid to linoleic acid. It has been shown that both
SACPD and FAD2 activity (down-regulation or up-regulation) have a
major eect on controlling levels of stearic and oleic acids in oil seed
plants including soybeans (due to induced and/or natural occurring
mutations) and olives.38-40 In fact, duplicated oleaster FAD2 genes
were found to be regulated by an siRNA derived from a transposable
element-rich region responsible for suppressing levels of FAD2 gene
expression. Neofunctionalization of SACPD gene family members has
been shown to increase expression of SACPD2, 3, 5, and 7 resulting in
an increased desaturation of stearic acid.41 us, the accumulation of
exceptionally high levels of linoleic acid in in Cactus Opuntia dillenii
seeds may be likely be explained by an increase/decrease of SACPD/
FAD2 expression.
Linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid and is the precursor of the very
long polyunsaturated fatty acids like the arachidonic (ARA) that are
benecial for human health. ARA (20:4) is present in phospholipids
of membranes of the body’s cells, abundant in the brain, and liver.42
Leguminous plants like soybeans present also higher amounts of
polyunsaturated linoleic acid (55%), followed by oleic acid (20%), while
the saturated fatty acids like palmitic and stearic acids present 10%
and 3%, respectively.36 Stearic acid content in Cactus oil (7.51%) was
much higher than in soybeans, considered the largest source of animal
protein feed and the second largest source of vegetable oil in the world.
Stearic acid presents neutral eect on the concentration of blood serum
LDL cholesterol and does not exhibit cholesterolemic eects on human
health. Many eorts have been made by the soybean community
and industry to increase the stearic acid content in soybeans by EMS
mutagenesis and mutational breeding.43 However, all developing
soybean lines with high stearic acid content (10 to 20%) presented poor
agronomic performance because the non-healthy nodules.43 erefore,
extracted natural cactus seed-oil present additional value for human
health benets compared with soybeans.
e fatty acid contents obtained in this study were quite similar to
those found in the Opuntia cus-indica seed-oil studied by Ozcan and
Al Juhaimi.43 In fact, linoleic acid and palmitic acid contents were 67%
and 16%, respectively. e environmental conditions such as heat and
humidity, in addition the fruit maturity conditions may explain the
observed dierences in the oil concentrations.44
Sensory evaluation of cake
e sensory evaluation results are shown in Table 4. e ve sensory
indexes of 5, 10, and 15% Cactus seed-oil treatment was evaluated and
compared between dierent treated samples and the control sample.
e obtained data showed that all the ve sensory of 5% Cactus seed-
oil treatment samples had a signicant dierence when compared to
the control. However, no signicant dierence (p > 0.05) in the two
sensory indices (Texture, Taste) of cakes prepared with Opuntia dillenii
seed-oil was found between 5% and 10% of Cactus seed-oil treatment
samples. e two sensory indexes (Texture, Taste) of cakes prepared
6
Ali Alsaad, et al.: Extraction and Identication of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benets
Pharmacognosy Journal, Vol 11, Issue 3, May-June, 2019
In addition, the statistical analysis showed that there was a signicant
dierence (p< 0.05) between the control sample and all treatments at
the same conditions.
ese results suggested that seed-oil was eective in suppressing the
oxidation of cakes. e anti-oxidative eect may have contributed to
the oxidative stability of cakes with addition of natural antioxidants
when added. ese added antioxidants prevent the lipid peroxides
formation during storage and delay oxidation. is could be due to
the slow permeation rate of antioxidant components into lipid layer of
the cakes. One of the most important changes that may occur to food
is lipid oxidation. Lipid oxidation lowers the quality and nutritional
value of food.47 e susceptibility of lipids to oxidation is one of the
major causes of oxidative stresses, resulting in the development of
rancidity, unpleasant tastes and odors, as well as changes in color.48 e
concentration and eectiveness of these oils may vary among cultivars
or varieties, crop environmental factors (i.e. light, temperature, and type
of soil nutrients), or methods and solvents used for their extraction.49
Fruit seed-oils are of great interest because they present high degree
of unsaturation and with antioxidant radical scavenging properties.50
e oil from plants can be potentially used by the food industry for
the manufacturing of “natural” or “green” safe foods and for extend
shelf-life.51,52 e peroxide value is of the order of 1.43 for Opuntia cus
indica oil from cold pressure extraction, and 1.84 for hexane extraction.
ese peroxides index values are less than 10 meq O2 / kg oil which
characterize most conventional oils.53,54 Indeed, lower peroxide index
values 10 mEq O2 / kg oil is generally regarded as indicating an
acceptable level of oxidation.6,41
CONCLUSION
Cactus fruit seeds are rich in minerals, with a predominance of calcium,
phosphorus and potassium at 280.81, 243.90, and 181.96 mg/100g
respectively. Opuntia dillenii seed-oil was found to contain highest
unsaturated fatty acid levels. In fact, linoleic acid presented 72.9%
with Opuntia dillenii seed-oil using 15% of Cactus seed-oil treatment
had signicant dierences (p <0.05) compared to 5% and 10% of Cactus
seed-oil treatment samples. Similarly, signicant dierence (p < 0.05)
regarding overall acceptability of cakes prepared with Opuntia dillenii
seed-oil was found between 5% and 10% of Cactus seed-oil treatment
samples. But there was no signicant dierence (p > 0.05) between
5% and 10% of Cactus seed-oil treatment samples regarding overall
acceptability index. ese results were in agreement with Hafez (2012)
who showed the absence of any signicant dierences among the
samples with and without marjoram powder substitution for the liking
scores of crump color, texture, and overall acceptability.
Cactus Opuntia dillenii seeds contained higher amounts of healthy
fatty acids. Moreover, polyunsaturated fatty acids may be natural
source of edible oil and contribute to the reduction of both total and
LDL cholesterol and signicant decrease in HDL cholesterol.45 Opuntia
dillenii seed-oil presents a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fatty
acids (linoleic acid) compared to conventional edible vegetable oils
such as olive oil, soy oil, corn oil, sesame oil, sunower oil, and cotton
oil.35 Fatty acids play a natural preventive role in cardiovascular diseases
and in alleviation of some other health problems.46
Peroxide value determination
e peroxide value of treated cake (Figure 4) at 4 ˚C with 0.03, 0.05,
0.07, 0.09, and 0.11 mg/100g of butter from Cactus seed-oil showed
no significant dierences among the samples. However, there was a
significant dierence between the samples and the control. e treated
cake with BHT at concentration 0.02 exhibited lower peroxide values
ranged from (0.67 to 1.5) milli-equivalents (meq) peroxide per 1 kg of
oil throughout 15 days of storage time at 4˚C. In contrast, the treated
cake with 0.11 mg/100g of butter from Cactus seed-oil presented
lower peroxide values ranged from (0.69 to 2.5) (meq) peroxide per
1 kg of oil among all treatments. ere was no signicant dierence
(p>0.05) between BHT and the treatment of 0.11 (mg/100g of butter).
Parameters Control 5% 10% 15%
Color 8.79 ± 1.0a8.04± 0.30b8.63± 0.70c8.89± 0.20c
Texture 8.43± 1.0a7.20± 1.80b7.12± 2.60b8.01± 0.86c
Tas t e 8.01± 1.30a6.23± 2.00b6.11± 1.40b7.01± 0.80c
Odor 8.30± 2.0a7.01± 0.81b6.02± 0.85c5.21± 0.78d
Overall
Acceptability 8.08± 0.21a7.60± 1.68b7.53± 1.80c7.50± 1.87c
Table 4: Sensory evaluation of cakes prepared with Opuntia dillenii seed-
oil replacement of cake butter at (5, 10, 15) % of Cactus seed-oil.
* Means within each raw with the same superscript letter (a,b,c) are not
signicantly dierent.
Y=0.02x+0.031
=0.994
2
R
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 5 10 15
Peroxide value meq/kg oil
storge �me(day)
0.03
0.05
0.07
0.09
0.11
BHT
control
Figure 4. Peroxide value of treated cake with 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.09, and 0.11 (mg/100g of
butter) of Cactus seed-oil during 15 days storage.
7Pharmacognosy Journal, Vol 11, Issue 3, May-June, 2019
Ali Alsaad, et al.: Extraction and Identication of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benets
while saturated fatty acids presented 15.12% (palmitic acid) and 7.51%
(stearic acid) (22.63 total saturated fatty acids), much higher than the
total of saturated fatty acids (~14%) contained in soybean [36,40,54].
e high-saturated fatty acid composition (>22%) and high linoleic
acid contents (72.9%) in Opuntia dillenii have positive impact to explore
this plant as an alternative source for healthy oil by lowering cholesterol
risks and for biodiesel production. e other essential oils were present
at low percentage. e degree of sensory evaluation of the control cake
and the substitution of butter with cactus seed-oil were very high in
all qualitative elements. e treated cake with BHT at concentration
0.02 exhibited lower peroxide values ranged from (0.67 to 1.5) milli-
equivalents (meq) peroxide per 1 kg of oil throughout 15 days of storage
time at 4 ˚C. In contrast, the treated cake with 0.11 mg/100g of butter of
Cactus seed-oil presented lower peroxide values ranged from 0.69 to 2.5
meq peroxide per 1 kg of oil among all treatments. ese results further
highlight the benets of using Cactus seed-oil as a natural source for
added nutritional value and use in industrial and/or pharmaceutical
sectors.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank the Food Science Department, College of
Agriculture, University of Basrah for providing equipment and facilities.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
A.JA. and S.N.A designed and planned the major experiments. A.A and
N.L carried out and wrote-up the main manuscript text.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
e authors declare no conicts of interest.
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GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
ABOUT AUTHORS
Dr. Alya Jameel Ali Alsaad a lecturer at Department of Food Science, Faculty of College of Agriculture,
University of Basrah, Iraq. She has experience in the area of food chemistry and natural products.
Dr. Ammar Altemimi worked as Lecturer (2009 - present) in Department of foodscience and Biotechnology,
University of Basrah, Iraq. He is now the chair of food science department, college of Agriculture,
University of Basrah. He taught biochemistry and biotechnology for undergraduate, food chemistry, dairy
products. Developing academic programs, monitor students educational progress, train and motivate
other non-teaching staff; manage career counseling and other student service. He has published more
than 11 papers in reputed journals such as Ultrsonic Sonochemistry Journal and Molecules Journal; and
he has been serving as an editorial board member and reviewers of repute Journals.
9Pharmacognosy Journal, Vol 11, Issue 3, May-June, 2019
Ali Alsaad, et al.: Extraction and Identication of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benets
Cite this article: Ali Alsaad AJ, Altemimi AB, Aziz SN, Lakhssassi N. Extraction and Identification of Cactus Opuntia Dillenii Seed
Oil and its Added Value for Human Health Benefits. Pharmacog J. 2019; 11(3):
Dr. Salah N. Aziz
A lecturer at Department of Food Science, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Iraq. He has
experience in the area of molecular genetic and Biotechnology.
Dr. Naoufal Lakhssassi is currently an Associate Scientist at the Department of Plant Soil and Agricultural
Systems, Agricultural College, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA. He holds a PhD in the field
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Malaga University, Spain, in the year 2011. He has been
working on different biology projects related to microbiology, plant genetics, biochemistry, biotechnology,
plant developmental biology, plant evolution, and bioinformatics. He served as an ad-hoc reviewer for
several scientific journals including BMC Genomics, Plos1, Plant Cell Reports, and Crop Science, etc.
He is serving on the editorial board of the Soil Science and Plant Health Journal, in addition to the Plant
Science Journal. He handled several research projects during these years mainly working with Arabidopsis
thaliana, tomato, and soybean with a major focus on soybean disease resistance and seed composition
using mutation screening. Dr. Naoufal Lakhssassi's research includes characterization of considerable
lines with increased seed oleic and stearic acids content, high protein content, tocopherols, desirable
carbohydrates, high yielding varieties, in addition to the characterization of several genes involved in seed
germination, and plant development.
