Abstract

PRIETO-GARCIA, Francisco et al. Chemical and physical characterization of seeds of Opuntia spp. grown in Hidalgo State, Mexico. Bioagro [online]. 2006, vol.18, n.3, pp.163-169. ISSN 1316-3361.

The fruits of nopal (Opuntia spp.) represent a valuable food in various Latin America countries. Usually, their seeds are discarded although they could contain basic components that might allow them to be used as nutritional complement or as other product convenient for the industry. The objective of this work was to perform a physical and chemical characterization of seeds of three species of Opuntia (O. Heliabravoana, O. Xoconostle, and O. ficus-indica) to generate specific knowledge from them. Fruits were collected in different municipalities of Hidalgo State, Mexico, and the seeds extracted, dried, and analyzed. The seeds showed similarity in the physical characteristics of density and hardness to the abrasion, except for small differences. Due to its relative size and volume, the seed of O. ficus-indica resulted 2.37 times more voluminous than the smallest seed (O. heliabravoana) and 1.50 times greater than the one from O. xoconostle. The size and morphologies of grains were similar among the species. Due to their relatively high content of oil, fibers, starches and carbohydrates they result interesting to be evaluated as nutritious food. However, in all of them it was found significantly high amounts of lead, which is a metal non desirable in any food.

Keywords : Prickly pear; proximal analysis; heavy metals; particle size; electron microscope.