Valorization of Cactus Cladodes (Opuntia ficus indica): The Effects of Different Drying Methods on Antioxidant Compounds and Physicochemical Characteristics
- 1Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, Faculty of Art and Design Antalya Belek University Antalya Türkiye
- 2Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Suleyman Demirel University Isparta Türkiye
- 3Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry and Metallurgy Yildiz Technical University Istanbul Türkiye
Abstract
Opuntia ficus indica is among the most widely cultivated and consumed cactus species worldwide. Cactus cladodes were dried using convectional drying, microwave drying, and ultrasound pretreatment combined with vacuum‐assisted convectional drying. Total phenolic, flavonoid, and flavonol contents; phenolic profile; ascorbic acid content; antioxidant capacity; color, texture were analyzed in fresh and dried samples, and microstructural changes were examined by SEM. Drying process is effective on phenolic compounds (p < 0.05). Ultrasound pretreatment has been important for total phenolic compound preservation. Among the dried samples, the highest total phenolic content was observed in ultrasound pretreated vacuum‐assisted convectional drying with 70°C. Drying treatments significantly affected the ΔE values (p < 0.05), with the highest color difference from the fresh sample observed in the ultrasound pretreated vacuum‐assisted convectional drying treatment at 80°C (23.62). Significant decreases were observed in the flavonoid and vitamin C amounts of the samples in the ultrasound pretreated drying method in pure water. As a result of the phenolic profile analysis, a total of nine components were determined. The antioxidant capacity of bioactive compounds did not show a statistically significant change according to different drying processes and drying parameters. In addition, flavonol amounts with drying processes were not affected by drying processes. The change in the skin strength value was found to be statistically insignificant in convectional drying and microwave drying applications. In the SEM analysis, the effects of different drying techniques and the parameters used in drying techniques on the product texture were revealed.
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BibTeX
@article{bagirsakci2026valorization,
title = {{Valorization of Cactus Cladodes (Opuntia ficus indica): The Effects of Different Drying Methods on Antioxidant Compounds and Physicochemical Characteristics}},
author = {Şehriban Gül Bağirsakci and Erkan Karacabey and Salih Karasu},
journal = {Food science \& nutrition},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/fsn3.72461},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13729268},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Valorization of Cactus Cladodes (Opuntia ficus indica): The Effects of Different Drying Methods on Antioxidant Compounds and Physicochemical Characteristics
AU - Şehriban Gül Bağirsakci
AU - Erkan Karacabey
AU - Salih Karasu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Food science & nutrition
DO - 10.1002/fsn3.72461
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13729268
AB - Opuntia ficus indica is among the most widely cultivated and consumed cactus species worldwide. Cactus cladodes were dried using convectional drying, microwave drying, and ultrasound pretreatment combined with vacuum‐assisted convectional drying. Total phenolic, flavonoid, and flavonol contents; phenolic profile; ascorbic acid content; antioxidant capacity; color, texture were analyzed in fresh and dried samples, and microstructural changes were examined by SEM. Drying process is effective on phenolic compounds (p < 0.05). Ultrasound pretreatment has been important for total phenolic compound preservation. Among the dried samples, the highest total phenolic content was observed in ultrasound pretreated vacuum‐assisted convectional drying with 70°C. Drying treatments significantly affected the ΔE values (p < 0.05), with the highest color difference from the fresh sample observed in the ultrasound pretreated vacuum‐assisted convectional drying treatment at 80°C (23.62). Significant decreases were observed in the flavonoid and vitamin C amounts of the samples in the ultrasound pretreated drying method in pure water. As a result of the phenolic profile analysis, a total of nine components were determined. The antioxidant capacity of bioactive compounds did not show a statistically significant change according to different drying processes and drying parameters. In addition, flavonol amounts with drying processes were not affected by drying processes. The change in the skin strength value was found to be statistically insignificant in convectional drying and microwave drying applications. In the SEM analysis, the effects of different drying techniques and the parameters used in drying techniques on the product texture were revealed.
SN - 2048-7177
ER -