Antioxidant and anticlastogenic capacity of prickly pear juice

Eduardo Madrigal-Santillán, Fernando García-Melo, José A. Morales-González, Patricia Vázquez-Alvarado, Sergio Muñoz-Juárez, Clara Zuñiga-Pérez, Maria Teresa Sumaya-Martínez, Eduardo Madrigal-Bujaidar, Alejandra Hernández-Ceruelos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

Plants belonging to the genus Opuntia spp. are the most abundant of the Cactaceae family, grown throughout America and the Mediterranean central area. Its fruit, known as cactus pear or prickly pear, is an oval berry grouped in different colors. Some studies have shown its antioxidant activities which may help in preventing chronic pathologies such as diabetes. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of three varieties of prickly pear juice (red-purple, white-green and yelloworange) in five different concentrations (100, 250, 500, 750, and 1000 mg/mL) by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical) colorimetric method, selecting the best variety to determine its anticlastogenic potential against methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). The results indicate that the highest antioxidant was found in the juice of the prickly pear red-purple variety (PPRP), in all concentrations. Its anticlastogenic potential was therefore evaluated with a micronucleus assay. The experiment was run over two weeks. A negative control was included along with a positive control with MMS (40 mg/kg), a group of mice treated with PPRP (25 mL/kg), and three groups with PPRP (in doses of 25, 16.5 and 8.3 mL/kg) plus the mutagen. The PPRP was administered daily by oral gavage and the MMS was injected intraperitoneally five days prior to the end of the experiment. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h in order to determine the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPE). The results indicated that PPRP is not a genotoxic agent, on the contrary, it may reduce the number of MNPE. In this regard, the PPRP showed an anticlastogenic effect directly proportional to its concentrations. Thus, the highest protection was obtained with a concentration of 25 mL/kg after 48 h of treatment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4145-4158
Number of pages14
JournalNutrients
Volume5
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 18 Oct 2013

Keywords

  • Anticlastogenic capacity
  • Methyl methanesulfonate
  • Micronucleus assay
  • Prickly pears

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Antioxidant and anticlastogenic capacity of prickly pear juice'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this