Phenolic composition, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of extracts from Moroccan Opuntia ficus-indica flowers obtained by different extraction methods

- Opuntia ficus-indica flowers could be considered as a source of phenolic compounds.
- Opuntia ficus-indica flowers contained hydroxycinnamic acid esters and flavonol glycosides.
- Opuntia ficus-indica flowers contained quercetin an isorhamnetin glycosylated derivatives.
- Opuntia ficus-indica flowers have considerable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

The objectives of this study were to compare the phenolic extraction efficiency of four extraction procedures, to explore the extract phenolic profile by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS and to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of cactus flowers from Morocco. accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) with 80% acetone in water at 80 °C gave rise to extracts with higher yields of total polyphenols, procyanidins and flavonoids. The qualitative analysis of the phenolic composition showed that these extracts were composed mainly by flavonol glycosides in addition to hydroxycinnamic acids which were detected in the extracts for first time. Our study also revealed the high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of cactus pear flower extracts. In light of the obtained results, cactus flowers are a good source of polyphenols that could be used in foods, cosmetics or pharmaceutical products, thus contributing to diminish the environmental impact of cactus by-products and to its valorization.