Phytochemicals, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of Opuntia stricta fruits peel.

Background: Currently, research is focused on therapeutic plants which are regarded as a supply of several phytotherapeutic compounds with several activities; among these plants we find cacti.

Aim: The purpose of this work is to reveal the phytochemical composition and the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of fruit peel from Opuntia stricta.

Methods: The phenolics profile has been obtained by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/mass spectroscopy analysis, antioxidant capacity has been evaluated by DPPH, FRAP, CAT, and ABTS^{• +} free radical, and the antimicrobial activity was tested against 7 bacteria and 3 fungi.

Results: The results reveal that EFOS has a high content of polyphenols, flavonoids, quinic acid, and hyperoside which were the most dominant. Moreover, the observed antioxidant capacity of the extract was remarkable. In addition, a high antimicrobial capacity especially against Staphylococcus aureus and Pythium catenulatum. These results indicate that fruit peels of O. stricta have potential applications as a natural preservative in cosmetics and in food formulations, and also as a natural remedy.

Conclusion: The finding proved that EFOS is characterized first by a wide variability of polyphenols and flavonoids and secondly by good potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities.