Table 2.

Chemical composition of the most relevant cacti for food industry.

Cacti Specie	Opuntia ficus-indica		Cereus peruvianus	Hylocereus spp.
Nutrient	Nopal Cladodes	Prickly Pear Fruit	Peruvian Apple Cactus Fruit	Dragon Fruit
Moisture (g/100 g)	90–94	88–92	88–92	80–90
Protein (g/100 g)	1.2–2.0	0.5–1.1	0.6–0.9	0.2–1.2
Fat (g/100 g)	0.1–0.5	0.3–0.6	0.1–0.3	0.1–0.7
Carbohydrates (g/100 g)	3.0–4.5	7.0–12.0	6.0–10.0	8.0–18.0
Dietary Fiber (g/100 g)	2.2–4.0	3.0–5.0	1.0–2.0	1.0–3.0
Ash (g/100 g)	1.1–1.6	0.8–1.2	0.4–0.7	0.4–0.8
Minerals
Calcium (mg/100 mg)	220–320	30–55	20–30	6–15
Magnesium (mg/100 mg)	52–85	15–30	10–20	10–20
Potassium (mg/100 mg)	300–430	220–330	200–300	200–400
Sodium (mg/100 mg)	21–45	3–15	1–10	0–50
Iron (mg/100 mg)	0.5–2.0	0.3–1.5	0.2–0.5	0.3–0.7
Vitamins
Vitamin A µg/100 g	50–100	20–50	Not found in the literature	10–40
Vitamin C mg/100 g	9–25	10–40	5–20	2–25
Vitamin E mg/100 g	0.5–1.5	0.3–1.0	Not found in the literature	Not found in the literature
Phytochemicals
Polyphenols mg/100 g	50–200	30–100	Not found in the literature	10–30
Flavonoids mg/100 g	10–50	10–30	Not found in the literature	Not found in the literature
Betalains mg/100 g	Not significant	10–50 (peel)	Not found in the literature	10–50 (peel)