title: Phenolic Profiles, Phytchemicals and Mineral Content of Decoction and Infusion of Opuntia ficus-indica Flowers.
abstract: Opuntia flowers are a natural source of biologically active compounds and they have been used as medicinal plant for a long time. Despite the various uses reported for the decoction and infusion of these flowers, their characterization has been discarded. In this study, the decoction and infusion prepared from Opuntia ficus-indica were analyzed with respect to their content in minerals and phytochemicals in order to evaluate its nutritional characteristics. The obtained data proved that these preparations are a rich source of minerals mainly K and Ca. Moreover, the phytochemical analysis revealed that they have important polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins contents with the infusion that presented the highest polyphenol levels. LC-MS analyses of decoction and infusion allowed the characterization of 20 phenolic compounds. It is mainly identified by the presence of flavonols glycosides.
authors.affiliation: Alimentary Analysis Laboratory, Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 3038, Sfax, Tunisia. imene_ammar@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Imene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ammar
authors.affiliation: Alimentary Analysis Laboratory, Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 3038, Sfax, Tunisia.|Higher Institute of Applied Sciences & Technology of Mahdia, Université de Monastir, Sidi Messaoud 5111, Mahdia, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Monia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ennouri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Electrochimie et Environnement, Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1177, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouaziz
authors.affiliation: Alimentary Analysis Laboratory, Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 3038, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Amal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ben Amira
authors.affiliation: Alimentary Analysis Laboratory, Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 3038, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Hamadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Attia
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000032:analysis; D035264:Flowers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis*; D029747:Opuntia / Q000737:chemistry*; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis*; D064209:Phytochemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000032:analysis; D011188:Potassium / Q000032:analysis; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D013634:Tannins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D008903:Minerals; D010636:Phenols; D064209:Phytochemicals; D010936:Plant Extracts; D059808:Polyphenols; D013634:Tannins; D011188:Potassium; D002118:Calcium
keywords: Decoction; Infusion; Minerals composition; Opuntia ficus-indica flowers; Phytochemicals