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Investigation of Amounts of Vitamins, Lycopene, and Elements in the Fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica Subjected to Different Pretreatments

Biological Trace Element Research volume 198, pages 315–323 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

In this study, Opuntia ficus-indica fruit was examined in fresh, frozen, sun-dried, and microwave-dried. Analysis of the vitamins in the samples was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The amount of selenium in the fruits was determined by fluorescence spectrophotometer, while copper, iron, manganese, and zinc were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Amount of vitamins in the fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica were decreased (p < 0.005) in sun- and microwave-dried samples in comparison with fresh sample. Decrease of vitamins in frozen fruits was statistically insignificant compared with fresh fruit (p > 0.05). The amounts of selenium, copper, iron, manganese, and zinc in Opuntia ficus-indica fruit were found to be 0.38 ± 0.03, 23.84 ± 1.82, 94.32 ± 7.04, 13.68 ± 0.88, and 188.44 ± 15.16 μg/g dw, respectively. It can be concluded that the fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica is rich in vitamin E, lycopene, ascorbic acid, nicotine amide, folic acid, iron, and zinc. The most suitable preservation techniques for Opuntia ficus-indica fruits are freezing to consume it in all season.

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Firat University, 23119, Elazig, Turkey

    Büşra Bakar, Meltem Çakmak & Dursun Özer

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Fırat University, Elazig, Turkey

    Muhammad Salihu Ibrahim, Sinan Saydam & Fikret Karatas

  3. Department of Science Laboratory Technology, School of Technology, Kano State Polytechnic, Kano, Nigeria

    Muhammad Salihu Ibrahim

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  1. Büşra Bakar
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Bakar, B., Çakmak, M., Ibrahim, M.S. et al. Investigation of Amounts of Vitamins, Lycopene, and Elements in the Fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica Subjected to Different Pretreatments. Biol Trace Elem Res 198, 315–323 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02050-w

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Keywords

  • Opuntia ficus-indica
  • Frozen
  • Sun- and microwave-dried
  • Vitamins
  • Lycopene
  • Elements