• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.221-226
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• 2007

The high molecular-weight mucilage extracted and purified from cactus fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica var. Saboten was degraded by the cell-free culture filtrate of a fungus isolated from soil. TLC analysis of the polymeric mucilage after incubation with the fungal culture filtrate confirmed its degradation. When the degradation products were tested for their qualitative reactions with ninhydrin and phenol-sulfuric acid, only phenol-sulfuric acid gave positive development, and ninhydrin did not show any observable color reaction. This coloring reaction suggested the presence of a carbohydrate without an amino group within the mucilage. Analyses by HPLC and liquid gel permeation chromatography on sephadex G-100 also provided additional information on degradation of the mucilage by the fungal culture filtrate. The sequences of ITS-5.8S rDNA from the fungal isolate that was cultivated for the preparation of mucilage-degrading enzyme showed 99% similarity to those of Pestalotiopsis aquatica.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.67-70
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• 2002

The effects of the dried stem powder of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten (OF-s) were investigated on gastric lesion and ulcer models in rats. It showed significant inhibition in HCl·ethanolinduced gastric lesion at the doses of 200 and 600 mg/kg p.o. and in HCl·aspirin-induced gastric lesion at 600 mg/kg p.o. OF-s also showed significant inhibition in indomethacin-induced gastric lesion at the doses of 200 and 600 mg/kg, p.o. However, it did not affect both the aspirin-induced and Shay ulcers in rats. It also did not affect gastric juice secretion, acid output and pH. These data indicate that OF-s only possesses pronounced inhibitory action on gastric lesion without antiulcer activity in rats.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2002

With the incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria there is increasing interest in natural products such as herb extract and probiotics to control antibiotic resistant bacteria. This study was focused on the determination of antimicrobial activity of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten against Salmonella enetrica serovar Enteritidis (S. enterifidis), S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) DT 104 and Escherichia coli 0157:H7. Though bactericidal effect of 0. ficus-indica var. saboten was not observed, it had significant inhibitory activity against Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157:H7 on the Moulter Hinton agar containing its solution dissolved in deionized water. To investigate the antimicrobial activity in vivo, mice were challenged with 5. Typhimurium DT104 (3.7$\times$108 cfu/mouse) after pre-feeding 0. ficus-indica var. saboten solution. The fecal shedding of S. Typhimurium DT104 was more dramatically decreased and not detectable in feces and intestines 3 days after challenge in mice fed with 0. ficus-indica var. saboten. Antibody responses of the intestinal IgA were also significantly increased in mice fed with 0. ficus-indica var. saboten. These findings suggest that Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten decreased the shedding of S. Typhimurium DT104 in vitro and also in the gastrointestinal tract in mice. In addition, administration of the product might enhance the mucosal immune response against S. Typhimurium DT 104. In conclusion, Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten might be useful to control antibiotic resistant bacteria in vivo and in vitro.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.125-134
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• 2011

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten (OFIS) powder addition replacing nitrite on quality characteristics of sausages stored at $4^{\circ}C$ during 15 days. All samples were divided into six different treatments as follow: C (non-sodium nitrite and -O. ficus-indica var. saboten powder), T1 (0.014% sodium nitrite), T2 (0.014% sodium nitrite + 0.5% O. ficus-indica var. saboten powder), T3 (0.014% sodium nitrite + 1.0% Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten powder), T4 (0.5% O. ficus-indica var. saboten powder) and T5 (1.0% O. ficus-indica var. saboten powder), respectively. The lightness (CIE $L^*$) of negative control (C) was higher than other treatments (p<0.05), and the redness (CIE $a^*$) of T5 treatment showed an intermediate value between T1 and T3 treatment. Yellowness (CIE $b^*$), water holding capacity (WHC) and cohesiveness, springiness and chewiness of T5 treatment were higher than other treatments (p<0.05). However moisture content, pH and whiteness of T1 treatment were the highest (p<0.05). No differences in sensory evaluation were observed between T1 and T5 treatment (p>0.05). Therefore, the results indicate that OFIS powder improves color and texture properties of sausage, however, specific study related to self-life due to the addition of OFIS powder to sausages may be conducted.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.20 no.6 s.84
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• pp.637-642
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• 2004

Paeksulgis (Korean rice cake), containing $0\~0.5\%$ Opuntia Ficus indica var. Saboten powder, was prepared to enable the quality of the mechanical and sensory characteristics to be tested. The pHs of the Paeksulgis without and with 0.05 to $0.5\%$ Opuntia Ficus indica var. Saboten powder were 5.99 and about 5.7 respectively. With regard to the Hunter's color values of the control Paekulgis, the lightness (L), redness (a) and yellowness (b) were 94.78, -0.01 and 5.58, respectively. The lightness (L) decreased with increasing Opuntia Ficus indica var. Saboten powder concentration, whereas the redness (a) and yellowness (b) were both increased. with regard to the mechanical characteristics of Paeksulgis, the strength hardness, adhesiveness and gumminess were highest in the control group. In the sensory evaluation of Paeksulgis, the control group had the highest score for texture (p<0.05), but the addition of Opuntia Ficus indica var. Saboten powder gave higher scores for color, flavor, moisture, consistency, after taste and overall preference than the control (p<0.05).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.1009-1013
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• 2012

We investigated the antibacterial effects of Opuntia ficus indica extracts on foodborne pathogens, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes, on the medium of sliced apples. Pathogens were inoculated on sliced apples and immersed for 10 min in Opuntia ficus indica extracts. Each sample was packaged and stored at $4^{\circ}C$ and $21^{\circ}C$ for 8 days. The populations of E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes significantly decreased with increasing extract concentration (p<0.05). In particular, L. monocytogenes was reduced to non-detectable levels after 2 days in 50 mg/mL treatment at $4^{\circ}C$ and $21^{\circ}C$ Opuntia ficus indica extracts therefore have antibacterial effects on the two foodborne pathogens. Sensory evaluation results indicated that treated apples had better sensory characteristics than did the control. Therefore, the results suggest that Opuntia ficus indica extracts could be useful as a natural food preservative to improve microbial safety.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.711-717
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• 2016

Opuntia humifusa fruits were investigated. The length of minor and major axis, and weight of O. ficus-indica and O. humifusa fruits were compared as the morphological features. The characteristics of components such as color, moisture, crude protein, ash, fat, dietary fiber, mineral, and amino acids were evaluated. The values of O. ficus-indica fruits were higher than those of O. humifusa fruits in each morphological feature such as minor axis, major axis, and weight. According to the Hunter color index results, O. humifusa fruits showed higher values of L (lightness) and b (yellowness), whereas O. ficus-indica fruits showed higher value of a (redness). The ${\Delta}E$ value between two samples was 19.80. The O. ficus-indica fruits had higher carbohydrate content and lower content of crude ash than those of O. humifusa fruits. Both samples showed very high dietary fiber contents, and the major minerals were K and Ca. Glutamic acid was the major amino acids in both samples. In free amino acids contents, O. ficus-indica had higher tyrosine and lower glutamic acid level than those of O. humifusa fruits. ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid was found in both samples, whereas taurine was found in O. ficus-indica fruits only. Taken together, the morphological features and chemical quality of O. ficus-indica and O. humifusa fruits showed difference although both of them were originated from the same genus.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Pathology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 1998

The Opuntia ficus-indica extract(OFE) has been claimed to have several therapeutic properties including anti-inflammation and anti-rheumatoid arthritis in oriental medicine but little is known about their effect on macrophages. This study demonstrated that OFE could stimulate TNF-alpha production in cultured macrophages. which is one of important mediators in autoimmune diseases including experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE). In vivo study showed that oral administration of OFE exacerbate the onset of clinical paralysis. This finding suggests that OFE stimulates cytokine production and exacerbates autoimmune inflammatory diseases including EAE.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.519-525
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• 2013

The Opuntia extract has been traditionally used to treat diabetes, inflammation, and rheumatoid arthritis in oriental medicine. The purpose of this study is to investigate characteristics of biological activity between Opuntia humifusa and Opuntia ficus-indica which is cultivating in korea using cell-free system or cell-based assay. O. humifusa extract effectively inhibited ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity or improved the immune function, and its biological activity was more effective than O. ficus-indica extract. The scavenging activity of DPPH radical and the inhibitory effect of tyrosinase similarly showed by O. humifusa and O. ficus-indica extract, however neuroprotective effect only showed a tendency to increase compared with control in PC12 cells. Therefore the results suggest that O. humifusa can be a useful agent for treatment of diabetes and immunodeficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.7
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• pp.1024-1029
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• 2010

Opuntia ficus-indica and Aloe vera slices were dried using 20, 30, and 40% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4,000 as a dehydration agent, and the dried samples were compared with the hot-air dried and freeze dried in terms of rehydration ratio, color, and sensory evaluation. The moisture content of the PEG-treated samples decreased with increasing concentrations of polyethylene glycol. The rehydration ratio of the PEG-treated samples was better than those of the hot air-dried or freeze-dried samples. The color of the PEG-treated samples was similar to that of the freeze-dried samples and better than that of the hot air-dried samples. The sensory evaluation of PEG-treated samples was better than those of the hot air-dried or freeze-dried samples. These results suggest that dehydration of Opuntia ficus-indica and Aloe vera slices using PEG is very effective in terms of rehydration ratio and minimal damage of cell structure.