South African cactus pear seed oil: a comprehensive study on 42 spineless Burbank Opuntia ficus-indica and O. robusta cultivars

Abstract

Cactus pear fruit seeds contain oil that can be utilized for human consumption. Fourty-two South African cultivars were evaluated over two seasons for seed oil content and fatty acid composition in an attempt to ascertain the best oil yielding cultivar. Seed oil content varied among cultivars and seasons and the yield ranged between 4.09 and 8.76% of seed mass. The unsaturated fatty acids were the most prominent and were dominated by linoleic acid, which varied between 56.86 and 65.21%, followed by oleic acid (16.44 and 22.51%), while the saturated fatty acids palmitic and stearic acid content ranged from 12.72 to 16.05% and from 2.21 to 3.39%, respectively. Cultivar and variation in rainfall had a statistically significant effect on cactus pear seed oil content and fatty acid composition. Principal Component Analysis showed that certain cultivars were exclusively associated with specific characteristics. This was the most comprehensive study of the seed oil characteristics of the available cultivars in South Africa ever to be performed. The American Giant cultivar had the highest seed oil yield.

Practical applications: In a semi-arid country such as South Africa, the value of by-products and waste products from a drought resistant plant such as cactus pear should be emphasized. Cactus pear seed oil is a novel and expensive essential oil. The emergence of many small-holding farms and small-scale processing facilities necessitated a comprehensive investigation into the oil composition of all the available cactus pear cultivars. Essential knowledge regarding cultivar choice in terms of oil-production and specific fatty acid composition, as well as seasonal effects thereon, was generated with this research. This research indicated that the American Giant (Opuntia ficus-indica) cultivar had the highest oil yield wheras the Roly Poly cultivar had the highest linoleic acid content. This data will enable processors to make recommendations to producers to use cultivars with optimum yield and oil quality as production target.

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