Assessment of Extraction Methods and Biological Value of Seed Oil from Eight Variants of Prickly Pear Fruit (Opuntia spp.)

Yield and composition of seed oil (SO) from eight variants of prickly pear were evaluated. Oil extraction was performed by maceration-percolation (MP) and by cold press (CP). Characterization and quantification of fatty acids and phytosterols was performed by CG/EM. Cytotoxicity and proliferative activities in vitro of the extracted SO were evaluated on fibroblast cell culture. Oil yield was quite variable between variants, higher with MP method (6.2–15.5%25) than with CP method (0.5–6.1%25). Oil analysis from the eight variants revealed the predominance (mg/g) of linoleic acid (664.5–761.0 and 605.4–787.8), followed by oleic acid (92.7–198.8 and 115.2–199.4), palmitic acid (25.6–56.2 and 2.9–6.1), and stearic acid (15.5–36.1 and 2.9–5.2) for CP and MP respectively. Regarding phytosterols, β-sitosterol was predominant (11.6–58.3 mg/100 g of seed), over γ-tocopherol (16.6–23.8 mg/100 g of seeds) for MP and CP, respectively. By adding 50 µM of CP oil, cell death due to UV radiation of human dermic fibroblasts was reduced. Prickly pear seed, as a residue of the juice industry, contain compounds with potential commercial value. © 2018, Springer Nature B.V.

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