Opuntia cladode powders inhibit adipogenesis in 3 T3-F442A adipocytes and a high-fat-diet rat model by modifying metabolic parameters and favouring faecal fat excretion.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a major public health concern worldwide. A sedentary life and a nutritional transition to processed foods and high-calorie diets are contributing factors to obesity. The demand for nutraceutical foods, such as herbal weight-loss products, which offer the potential to counteract obesity, has consequently increased. We hypothesised that Opuntia cladodes consumption could assist weight management in an obesity prevention context. METHODS: This study was designed to explore the anti-adipogenic effects of lyophilised Opuntia cladode powders (OCP) in an in vitro cellular model for adipocyte differentiation and an in vivo high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obesity rat model. Two OCP were tested, one from wild species O. streptacantha and the second from the most known species O. ficus-indica. RESULTS: Pre-adipocytes 3 T3-F442A were treated by OCP during the differentiation process by insulin. OCP treatment impaired the differentiation in adipocytes, as supported by the decreased triglyceride content and a low glucose uptake, which remained comparable to that observed in undifferentiated controls, suggesting that an anti-adipogenic effect was exerted by OCP. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with a normal or HFD, supplemented or not with OCP for 8 weeks. OCP treatment slightly reduced body weight gain, liver and abdominal fat weights, improved some obesity-related metabolic parameters and increased triglyceride excretion in the faeces. Taken together, these results showed that OCP might contribute to reduce adipogenesis and fat storage in a HFD context, notably by promoting the faecal excretion of fats. CONCLUSIONS: Opuntia cladodes may be used as a dietary supplement or potential therapeutic agent in diet-based therapies for weight management to prevent obesity.

Opuntia spp.: Characterization and Benefits in Chronic Diseases.

Opuntia species have been used for centuries as food resources and in traditional folk medicine for their nutritional properties and their benefit in chronic diseases, particularly diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. These plants are largely distributed in America, Africa, and the Mediterranean basin. Opuntia spp. have great economic potential because they grow in arid and desert areas, and O. ficus-indica, the domesticated O. species, is used as a nutritional and pharmaceutical agent in various dietary and value-added products. Though differences in the phytochemical composition exist between wild and domesticated (O. ficus-indica) Opuntia spp., all Opuntia vegetatives (pear, roots, cladodes, seeds, and juice) exhibit beneficial properties mainly resulting from their high content in antioxidants (flavonoids, ascorbate), pigments (carotenoids, betalains), and phenolic acids. Other phytochemical components (biopeptides, soluble fibers) have been characterized and contribute to the medicinal properties of Opuntia spp. The biological properties of Opuntia spp. have been investigated on cellular and animal models and in clinical trials in humans, allowing characterization and clarification of the protective effect of Opuntia-enriched diets in chronic diseases. This review is an update on the phytochemical composition and biological properties of Opuntia spp. and their potential interest in medicine.

Antiatherogenic and antitumoral properties of Opuntia cladodes: inhibition of low density lipoprotein oxidation by vascular cells, and protection against the cytotoxicity of lipid oxidation product 4-hydroxynonenal in a colorectal cancer cellular model.

Opuntia species have been used for thousands of years as a folk medicine in the treatment of diseases. However, the components and protective mechanisms are still unclear. We make the hypothesis that Opuntia species may protect the development of oxidative stress-associated diseases, such as atherosclerosis or colon cancer, via their antioxidant properties. We investigated the protective effect of Opuntia cladode powder against the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) evoked by vascular endothelial cells, an important risk factor for atherosclerosis development, and the toxicity of 4-hydroxynonenal (a major lipid peroxidation product) on normal (Apc +/+) and preneoplastic (Apc min/+) immortalized epithelial colon cells. Various Opuntia species classified according to their degree of domestication, from the wildest (Opuntia streptacantha, Opuntia hyptiacantha, Opuntia megacantha), medium (Opuntia albicarpa), to the most domesticated (Opuntia ficus-indica) were tested. Cladode powders prepared from these Opuntia species significantly inhibited LDL oxidation induced by incubation with murine endothelial cells and the subsequent foam cell formation of RAW 264.7 murine macrophages and cytotoxicity on murine endothelial cells. Moreover, Opuntia cladode powder blocked the promotion of colon cancer development on an in vitro model of colonocytes. It may be noted that the phenolic acid and flavonoids content, the antioxidant capacity, and the protective effect were relatively similar in all the cladode powders from wild (O. streptacantha) and domesticated Opuntia. Altogether, these data confirm the therapeutic potential of Opuntia cladodes in diseases associated with oxidative stress.