Prickly pear fruits from Opuntia ficus-indica varieties as a source of potential bioactive compounds in the Mediterranean diet

Cactus has been used in traditional folk medicine because of its role in treating a number of diseases and conditions. Prickly pear fruit is an excellent source of secondary metabolites (i.e., betalains, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid) with health -promoting properties against many common human diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, rheumatic pain, gastric mucosa diseases and asthma. In addition, prickly pears are potential candidates for the development of low-cost functional foods because they grow with low water requirements in arid regions of the world. This review describes the main bioactive compounds found in this fruit and shows the in vitro and some clinical studies about the fruit of most important cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) and its relationship with some chronic diseases. Even though a lot of effort have been done to study the relationship between this fruit and the human health, more studies on Opuntia ficus-indica could help better understand its pharmacological mechanism of action to provide clear scientific evidence to explain its traditional uses, and to identify its therapeutic potential in other diseases.