• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.33 no.3 s.130
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• pp.230-237
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• 2002

Prickly pear(Opuntia ficus-indica var saboten Makino, Cactaceae) is widely used as folk medicine for burned wound, edema and indigestion. To confirm the hypolipidemic action of the extract from Cactus stem and fruit in dietary hyperlipidemic rats, variations of the lipid- or cholesterol-related components were investigated. As results these changes were significantly prevented by treatments with Cactus extracts. The effects of the extract of fruit was better than those of stem.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.358-365
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• 2019

This study investigated the effects of dietary cactus Opuntia ficus-indica stem and fruit extract on the growth, flesh quality, lysozyme activity, and histological changes of growing Korean rockfish Sebastes schlegeli. Three replicates of fish (152 g/fish) were fed one of the following diets: containing 0 additions (control); 0.1, 0.5, or 1.0% cactus stem powder; or 1.0% fruit extract for 11 weeks. Growth performance did not differ significantly among treatments, including survival, final weight, feed efficiency, and daily feed intake. The experimental diets did not affect the proximate and fatty acid compositions, plasma biochemistry, or dorsal muscle texture of the fish. However, the plasma lysozyme activity of the fish fed the diet containing 0.1% cactus stem was significantly higher than that of the fish fed the control diet. These fish had variously sized lipid vacuoles in the liver tissue compared with the control. Distinct mucosal folds and mucus-secreting goblet cells developed in the fish fed the diet containing 1% cactus stem compared with the other dietary groups. These results suggest that feeding growing Korean rockfish cactus stem might increase the plasma lysozyme activity and induce histological changes in the gastrointestinal tract that might be related to digestion.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.847-853
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• 1997

Attempts were made to determine the compositions of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten for the utilization as food materials. The major components of Opuntia ficus-indica and aloe in proximate compositions were nitrogen free extract. Total mineral contents of stem, fruit and seed of Opuntia ficus-indica were 9400.8, 6151.2 and 1096.8 mg%, respectively, and their major minerals were Ca, P and Mg. The major free amino acids of fruit were tyrosine, proline and arginine, those of stem were glycine and arginine and that of seed was glutamic acid. The major amino acid of fruit was glutamic acid, those of stem were glycine and arginine and those of seed were glutmic acid and arginine. Vitamin C contents of fruit and stem were 163.8 and 71.2 mg% but not presented in seed. Vitamin A was also not presented in fruit, stem and seed. Contents of total polyphenols and flavonoids were changed by extraction solvent and temperature. Total polyphenols of fruit were higher than those of stem and seed. Total flavonoids of fruit were similar to those of stem.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

Purpose: To verify the anti-microbiotic activity and to develop eco-friendly surface disinfectants using the Opuntia ficus-indica extract. Methods: The stem and fruits of the Opuntia cultivated in Jeju Island were extracted with hot water, 70% EtOH and 100% MeOH, respectively. To examine the antimicrobial activity of the extracts, gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus), gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium), yeast (Candida albicans), mold (Aspergillus flavus) and antibiotic resistant bacteria (E. coli, S. aureus) were measured to form a clear zone. Results: The antibacterial activity of the fruit extract was higher than that of the stem extract, and the antibacterial activity of the 100% MeOH (FM) extract and the 70% EtOH (FE) extract of the palm cactus fruit was suitable for the surface disinfectant overall, and clear-zone formed even at relatively low concentrations (250 mg/mL). The FM and FE have antibacterial activity against various bacteria, therefore they can be used as disinfectants. Conclusion: The antimicrobial activity of Opuntia ficus-indica extract from Jeju Island by stem and fruit was determined at relatively low concentrations (250 mg/mL). The Opuntia ficus-indica extract will be useful for surface disinfectants dissolving the patients' bath, oral gargling, and powdered powder in water or ethanol in appropriate concentrations.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.103-110
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• 2005

Opuntia ficus-indica, commonly known as prickly pear cactus, is commercially grown as a food and medicinal plant in Jeju Island, Korea. The crushed pads and fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica were dried in a freeze-dryer and ground into flour to be used for food materials. The major components of proximate compositions were part of a nitrogen free extract. The major minerals were Ca (4391.2-2086.9㎎%), K (1932.1-2608.7㎎%), and Mg (800.6-1984.8㎎%). The major amino acid was glutamic acid, comprising 16.3% of total amino acids in fruit and 25.2% in pad. Dihydroflavonols were identified as (+)-trans-dihydrokaempferol and (+)-trans-dihydroquercetin. Citric acid methyl esters extracted from fruits showed inhibitory activities against monoamine oxidase-B. The presence of trimethyl citrate has been reported in other plants, but 1,3-dimethyl citrate and 1-monomethyl citrate have not been previously reported. The results of pharmacological efficacy tests, including serum biochemical and hematological parameters, autonomic nervous system, anti-inflammatory, analgestic activity, anti-diabetic activity, antithrombotic, anticoagulant, dopamine beta-hydroxylase, monoamine oxidase activity, hyperlipidemia, the respiratory system, antigastic, and anti-ulcerative actions indicate that the fruit and pad of the Opuntia ficus-indica are rich sources of food and medicinal materials.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.33 no.3 s.130
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• pp.238-244
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• 2002

The extracts from stem and fruit of Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten Makino) were applied to confirm the antiatherosclerotic effects in subacute alcoholic hyperlipidemic rats. It was observed that several indications of hyperlipidemia were prevented or changed by the treatments of the extracts but activities of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase and alcohol dehydrogenase were not affected, which suggest that the extracts may promote the fecal excretion and delay the absorption of alcohol in hyperlipidemic rats.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.221-226
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• 2007

The high molecular-weight mucilage extracted and purified from cactus fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica var. Saboten was degraded by the cell-free culture filtrate of a fungus isolated from soil. TLC analysis of the polymeric mucilage after incubation with the fungal culture filtrate confirmed its degradation. When the degradation products were tested for their qualitative reactions with ninhydrin and phenol-sulfuric acid, only phenol-sulfuric acid gave positive development, and ninhydrin did not show any observable color reaction. This coloring reaction suggested the presence of a carbohydrate without an amino group within the mucilage. Analyses by HPLC and liquid gel permeation chromatography on sephadex G-100 also provided additional information on degradation of the mucilage by the fungal culture filtrate. The sequences of ITS-5.8S rDNA from the fungal isolate that was cultivated for the preparation of mucilage-degrading enzyme showed 99% similarity to those of Pestalotiopsis aquatica.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2007

Two feeding experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of fermented cactus fruit (Opuntia ficusindica) fluid (FCFF) as a feed additive to a commercial diet on the growth of red sea bream, Pagrus major, and to determine an effective dose. FCFF was prepared by mixing crushed cactus fruit with a starch solution and commercially available microorganisms for 2 weeks at room temperature. Three triplicate groups of red sea bream had initial mean weights of 84.1 g (Exp-1) and 5.1 g (Exp-2) and were fed experimental diets containing 0%, 1%, and 5% FCFF for 2 months (Exp-1) and 0%, 0.2%, 0.5%, and 1% FCFF for 3 months (Exp-2), respectively. In experiment 1, the mean body weight of fish fed the diet containing 1% FCFF was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of fish fed the diet without FCFF. The survival rate was highest in fish fed the diet containing 1% FCFF, although the difference was not statistically significant. The feed gain ratio (FGR), specific growth rate (SGR), and condition factor (CF) values of fish fed the diet containing 1% FCFF were higher than those of fish in the other dietary groups that received lower levels of FCFF. The daily feeding rate (DFR) of fish fed the diet containing 1% FCFF was slightly lower but not statistically different than the DFR values of fish in the other dietary groups. In experiment 2, the final mean body weight of fish fed the diet containing 1% FCFF was significantly (P<0.05) higher than the mean weight of fish in the control group. The FGR, SGR, and CF values of fish fed the diet containing 1% FCFF were better than the values from fish in the other dietary groups that received lower levels of FCFF, although the differences were not statistically significant. However, the DFR of fish fed the diet containing 1% FCFF was lower than those of fish in the other groups. These results suggest that FCFF could be used as a feed additive in commercial fish food and a preferable level of supplementation is at least 1.0% in fingerling and young red sea bream.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.45-54
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• 2009

This study was designed to investigate the effect of cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten) extracts on the intestinal bacteria, antioxidative activity and angiotensin -I-converting enzyme(ACE) inhibitory activity. The antimicrobial activities were measured using the 96well-plate method and disc plate method with concentration of 20mg of cactus extract. The stem extract of cactus was inhibitory against Eubacterium limosum, Clostridium perfringens, C. butyricum, C. difficile and Staphylococcus aureus, but was not inhibitory against Bacteroides fragilis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus acidophilis, Streptococcus thermophilus. The fruit extract of cactus showed no inhibition against Bacteroides fragilis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus acidophilis, and Streptococcus thermophilis. Their inhibitory activities were not reduced after heat and pH treatment. Antioxidative effects of cactus extracts showed high total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and high activity against free radical DPPH. The stem and fruit extract of cactus showed strong ACE inhibitory activities of 88.8% and 69.2%, respectively. In conclusion cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten) extract might be utilized as a functional food material to control intestinal microflora.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.3 s.76
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• pp.477-484
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• 2006

This study was performed to know the potentialities of the fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica, as a medium for mushroom mycelial culture. Five mushroom mycelial (Agrocus blazei, Grifola frondosa, Hericium erinaceum, Innonotus obliquus, Phellinus linteus) were frown on the malt extract broth (MEB) and the cactus broth medium (CB). The submerged culture mixtures were extracted using equal volume of ethyl acetate, and their extract yields, total polyphenol contents, and some physiological activities were compared with each other Each extract from mycelial culture grown on CB medium showed remarkable enhancement in physiological activities compared with each counterpart grown on MEB. Among five mycelial cultures grown on CB medium, the extract yield and polyphenyl content were highest in the extract from Grifola frondosa (extract yield, 0.4 g/L and polyphenol content, 22.7%). Also, the extracts from Grifola frondosa showed the highest physiological activities, such as DPPH radical scavenging ($IC_{50}=362.9{\mu}g/ml$), xanthine oxidase inhibition (about 80% at $500{\mu}g/ml$), and superoxide radical scavenging (about 80% at $500{\mu}g/ml$), and NO production inhibition ($IC_{50}=43.1{\mu}g/ml$) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. This result suggests that the fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica can be used as a culture medium for improving the functional properties of various mushroom mycelia.