Phytochemical characterization of Opuntia macrorhiza (Engelm.) and Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.) cladodes
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resumo
The genus Opuntia belongs to the Cactaceae family. The cladodes, also known as “nopalitos”, have been
widely used, in many countries, for their beneficial effects and phytochemical composition. It is used as a
food, as a source of nutrients, and also in folk medicine [1]. In the present work, the cladodes of Opuntia
macrorhiza (Engelm.) and Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.) were characterized in terms of free sugars,
organic acids, fatty acids, tocopherols and phenolic compounds. The individual sugars’ profile was
determined by HPLC-RI, organic acids by HPLC-DAD, fatty acids by GC-FID, and tocopherols by HPLCfluorescence.
The phenolic compounds profile was determined by HPLC-DAD-MS/ESI. Despite the
phylogenetic proximity and similar geographical origin the samples of O. microdasys and O. macrorhiza
showed significant differences in the profiles of sugars, organic acids, fatty acids, tocopherols and
phenolic compounds. While, O. microdasys presented higher sugars and tocopherols content, O.
macrorhiza revealed higher concentration in organic acids, poly and monounsaturated fatty acids. The
cladodes of O. microdasys (10 compounds: 6 phenolic acid derivatives and 4 favonols) revealed a higher
amount of phenolic compounds in comparison with O. macrorhiza (7 compounds: 6 phenolic acid
derivatives and 1 favonol); only four of the identified compounds were detected simultaneously in both
species. Piscidic acid (3400±236 μg/g of extract) and eucomic acid (1688±26 μg/g of extract) were the
main phenolic compounds in O. macrorhiza, while isorhamnetin-O-(rhamnosyl)-rutinoside was the most
abundant in O. microdasys (2507±73 μg/g of extract). Hence, the elucidation of the most abundant
compounds might constitute useful information to select the best species regarding specific applications
of these natural extracts.
