Evaluation of three methods for betanin quantification in fruits from cacti.

In México, production of cacti fruits has increased. These fruits have high concentration of betalains (pigments), and market has increased interest in food with natural ingredients. In the near future, a sustainable method for betanin quantification in cacti fruits for rural communities will be necessary. Betanin in pulp of garambullo (Myrtillocactus geometrizan), chico fruit (Pachycereus weber), jiotilla (Escontria chiotilla) and pitaya de mayo (Stenocereus pruinosus) were quantified using three different analytical methods. The techniques were of Spectrophotometry UV-Vis (SCC), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Spectrophotometry technique using Molar Extinction Coefficient (SEC). The accuracy and intermediate precision were evaluated in SEC, SCC, and HPLC with the four cacti´s fruit. The means betanin concentration in the pulps were 0.68±0.05 (mg/g dry weight) garambullo, 1.28±0.06 (mg/g dry weight) chico fruit, 1.84±0.34 jiotilla and 2.0±0.25 pitaya de mayo (mg/g dry weight). The concentration of betanin in garambullo pulp measured by the three methods did not differ significantly (P >0.05). In this case, SEC method represents the best option to reduce costs, time and solvents in this way this method is aligned with green chemistry. In the three methods, coefficient of variation between measurements obtained are below 15%.•Robust method to quantify betanin and evaluate intermediate precision•Validation parameters such as LOD, LOQ, accuracy, intermediate precision, and HorRat were considered•The developed method enriches the valorization of underutilized national agricultural sources of Mexico.

Validation of aqueous two-phase extraction method.

Nowadays, consumer interest in food with natural ingredients has increased. This need has led to the research of new sources and green extraction methods. Betalains are compounds responsible for giving color to cacti fruits. The aim is to obtain low-sugar betacyanins extracts from jiotilla Escontria chiotilla using aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) to color food with the extract. The effect of principal parameters of ATPS (Ethyl alcohol- KH2PO4/K2HPO4) as tie-line length (TL;40,50 and 70), phase volume ratios (Vr; 1 and 3) on the partitioning of betacyanins, betaxanthins, total sugars, reducing sugars, and antioxidant activity in the extract was evaluated. The yields were determined from the top and bottom phases of the aforementioned parameters. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA, α = 0.05) showed that TLL and Vr were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The lowest bottom sugar yield (25.78 ± 3.14%) corresponds to TLL = 40, Vr = 3. Under these conditions, the corresponding value for betacyanins yield is 62.98±4.52%. For the first time, the ATPS was used to extract betacyanins from cactus fruit.•Escontria chiotilla, as a biological source, contained a high percent of betalains•Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) was statistically optimized•The developed method enriches the valorization of environmentally related plants waste materials.

Underutilized Mexican Plants: Screening of Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Properties of Mexican Cactus Fruit Juices.

Cacti fruits are known to possess antioxidant and antiproliferative activities among other health benefits. The following paper evaluated the antioxidant capacity and bioactivity of five clarified juices from different cacti fruits (Stenocereus spp., Opuntia spp. and M. geomettizans) on four cancer cell lines as well as one normal cell line. Their antioxidant compositions were measured by three different protocols. Their phenolic compositions were quantified through high performance liquid chromatography and the percentages of cell proliferation of fibroblasts as well as breast, prostate, colorectal, and liver cancer cell lines were evaluated though in vitro assays. The results were further processed by principal component analysis. The clarified juice from M. geomettizans fruit showed the highest concentration of total phenolic compounds and induced cell death in liver and colorectal cancer cells lines as well as fibroblasts. The clarified juice extracted from yellow Opuntia ficus-indica fruit displayed antioxidant activity as well as a selective cytotoxic effect on a liver cancer cell line with no toxic effect on fibroblasts. In conclusion, the work supplies evidence on the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities that cacti juices possess, presenting potential as cancer cell proliferation preventing agents.

Functional Attributes and Anticancer Potentialities of Chico (Pachycereus Weberi) and Jiotilla (Escontria Chiotilla) Fruits Extract.

Mexico has a great diversity of cacti, however, many of their fruits have not been studied in greater depth. Several bioactive compounds available in cacti juices extract have demonstrated nutraceutical properties. Two cactus species are interesting for their biologically active pigments, which are chico (Pachycereus weberi (J. M. Coult.) Backeb)) and jiotilla (Escontria chiotilla (Weber) Rose)). Hence, the goal of this work was to evaluate the bioactive compounds, i.e., betalains, total phenolic, vitamin C, antioxidant, and mineral content in the extract of the above-mentioned P. weberi and E. chiotilla. Then, clarified extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity (cancer cell lines) potentialities. Based on the obtained results, Chico fruit extract was found to be a good source of vitamin C (27.19 ± 1.95 mg L-Ascorbic acid/100 g fresh sample). Moreover, chico extract resulted in a high concentration of micronutrients, i.e., potassium (517.75 ± 16.78 mg/100 g) and zinc (2.46 ± 0.65 mg/100 g). On the other hand, Jiotilla has a high content of biologically active pigment, i.e., betaxanthins (4.17 ± 0.35 mg/g dry sample). The antioxidant activities of clarified extracts of chico and jiotilla were 80.01 ± 5.10 and 280.88 ± 7.62 mg/100 g fresh sample (DPPH method), respectively. From the cytotoxicity perspective against cancer cell lines, i.e., CaCo-2, MCF-7, HepG2, and PC-3, the clarified extracts of chico showed cytotoxicity (%cell viability) in CaCo-2 (49.7 ± 0.01%) and MCF-7 (45.56 ± 0.05%). A normal fibroblast cell line (NIH/3T3) was used, as a control, for comparison purposes. While jiotilla extract had cytotoxicity against HepG2 (47.31 ± 0.03%) and PC-3 (53.65 ± 0.04%). These results demonstrated that Chico and jiotilla are excellent resources of biologically active constituents with nutraceuticals potentialities.

Using high hydrostatic pressures to retain the antioxidant compounds and to reduce the enzymatic activity of a pitaya-pineapple (Stenocereus sp.-Fragaria ananassa) beverage.

Pitaya (Stenocereus sp.) is a fruit native to arid and semiarid areas of Mexico. It has high antioxidant activity mainly due to its contents of betalains and phenolics, but its consumption is limited due to very short shelf-life and not very recognized flavor. A beverage of pitaya and pineapple was formulated to improve sensory properties. A high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) study at 400-600 MPa and 25 °C for 2-10 min was applied in the beverage and the effect on the contents of vitamin C, total phenolics and betalains, and the pectin methylesterase (PME) activity of pitaya-pineapple beverages, was evaluated. The effect of the come up time (CUT) was also studied. Vitamin C contents increased from 5% at 600 MPa-CUT to 64% at 400 MPa/CUT. Total phenolic concentrations decreased (20-48%) at all processing conditions tested at 400 MPa/CUT, total betacyanins were retained. At 500 MPa/10 min losses of betaxanthins of up to 6% occurred. The maximum PME activity decrease was 23% at 600 MPa 5 min, but an increase of PME activity 7% was observed at 400 MPa/10 min. HHP seem to be a good option to retain most of the antioxidant compounds in pitaya-pineapple beverage, but more studies are necessary to inactivate PME.