Opuntia monacantha (Willd.) Haw. of the Grumari Sandbank, RJ, Brazil: Physical, chemical, biological and nutritional composition characterizations

Opuntia monacantha is known in Brazil and is commonly marketed in some regions, as in the ecological fairs of Porto Alegre. This study aims to investigate the physical and mineral characteristics as well as antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity, and chemical profile of the main metabolites of the fruit extracts. The fruits are a source of fiber (pulp and peel: 7.01 mg, 9.01 mg/100 g), respectively, selenium pulp and peel (0.04 mg/100 g and 0.05 mg/100 g), copper pulp (1.05 mg/100 g) and manganese peel (67,83 mg/100 g). The pulp showed phenolic content related to an antioxidant potential attributed to quercetin and rutin constitution in the extracts. The antibacterial activity was observed against S. aureus ATCC 33591 (methicillin-resistant, MRSA) and ATCC 29213 (methicillin-sensitive, MSSA) at 512 µg.mL⁻¹ in the apolar extracts of the fruits constituted by saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, as well as phytosterols. The fruits presented a rich nutritional composition correlated with antioxidant and antibacterial action, being potential for health improvement and it can be explored by the food industry as well as in nature consumption by the population.