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Journal of Food Science and Technology logoLink to Journal of Food Science and Technology
. 2022 Feb 12;59(8):3158–3166. doi: 10.1007/s13197-022-05366-8

Assessment of cactus pear leather (pestil) as a new snack food

Bige Incedayi 1,✉, Nevin Dogan 1, Omer Utku Copur 1
PMCID: PMC9304521  PMID: 35872717

Abstract

In this study, selected nutritional and functional properties of cactus pear and cactus pear leather (pestil) processed with different dryers (oven type and pilot scale tray dryers) were evaluated. For this aim, the fruits collected from three different districts of Turkey were processed and the most suitable region and processing method were investigated. Processing with different dryers had significant (p < 0.05) impact on total acidity, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, color and hydroxymethylfurfural values of pestil samples and the best results including antioxidant capacity (66.91–70.25%) and total phenolics (1.79–2.01 g gallic acid equivalent per kg) were obtained with the tray dryer. On the other hand, mineral contents (Na, K, Ca, Mg and Fe) of the products were not significantly (p > 0.05) affected from different dryers. Pestil obtained by tray drying gave the highest rate for the taste. According to the results, the fruits collected from the Aegean region of Turkey were more convenient for processing. Because there is a limited number of studies on this fruit, data provided in the present study may also contribute to further studies.

Keywords: Antioxidant capacity, Cactus pear, Drying, Leather, Mineral, Total phenolic content

Introduction

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus indica), belonging to the genus Opuntia of the Cactaceae family, are perennial cactus plants specific to arid and semi-arid regions (Rufián-Henares and Delgado-Andrade 2009). The most common commercially grown species of cactus pear is Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. and this fruit has a very delicious aroma (Parish and Felker 1997). The fruit is an oval and elongated berry with a thick pericarp and a large number of hard seeds. While the colors of the fruit changes from white, green, yellow, orange, red, purple, and even brown, pulp of the fruit may be canary yellow, orange or red-rose like. Fruit weights range from 100 to 150 g, depending on origin, cultivar and edaphic conditions (Feugang et al. 2006). It can be consumed fresh or processed into many products such as jam, marmalade, fruit juice, alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages in countries where cultivation is carried out.

Cactus pear has a nutraceutical effect due to its natural antioxidant components such as polyphenols, vitamins and selenium (Schulz et al. 2019). It contains high amounts of betanine, betacyanins, betaxanthins, indaxanthin, vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, dietary fiber (lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose) and free amino acids (proline, glutamine, taurine) (Piga 2004; Monika et al. 2017; Suna 2019). Due to the presence of these components, this fruit posesses antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antiulcerogenic, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties (Parish and Felker 1997). The presence of beta pigments in flesh and skin enables the use of cactus pear as a potential natural colorant (Tontul and Topuz 2019). All these features increase the importance of utilization of this fruit at industrial scale by processing it into new products. There are very few studies on the effects of processing of this valuable fruit (Vitali et al. 2009; Alexandrina 2011; Monika et al. 2017; Seremet Ceclu et al. 2020; Vos and Arancon 2020).

Fruit leather (pestil) is one of the most important traditional foods that produced and consumed in different regions of Turkey (Toplu et al. 2009). This traditional product is one of the oldest methods for the utilization of different fruits. Although the composition of fruit pestil usually contains fruit juice/pulp, starch, flour and sugar (Van de Velde et al. 2016); mulberry must, honey, wheat flour and milk are also used in some pestil types (Feugang et al. 2006). Pestil is qualified as a snack food due to its practical consumption, presence of many nutrients and fulfillment of energy needs (Medina et al. 2007). Drying process reduces moisture and water activity of this food and minimizes chemical, microbiological and enzymatic reactions as well as the prolongation of shelf life by preventing the spoilage (Santos and Silva 2008).

In this study, it is aimed to develop a new product possessing nutritional and functional properties of cactus pear fruit obtained from three different regions of Turkey. In order to extend the consumption period of this valuable fruit and bring it to the consumer in a new form, drying was carried out using oven and tray dryers. In this way, a new traditional pestil product formulized using cactus pear will be introduced to the food industry, too. The appropriate region and the proper production technique were determined besides the compositional differences of the fruits. In summarize (a) the fruits were collected from 3 different regions where they were mostly grown (b) suitable pestil recipe was formulated (c) different driers were used in production. The present data will give a lead to further studies on this aromatic fruit and its products.

Materials and methods

Materials

In this research, indigenous cactus pear fruits from three different points of Mediterranean and Aegean region were used as a raw material. Coordinates where fruits had been collected at 09:00–12:00 intervals were as follows (a) Mersin-Silifke-Akdere location (36° 14′ 30'' north—33° 44′ 86'' east—98 m elevation) (b) Muğla—Seydikemer district (36° 38′ 16'' north—29° 22′ 05'' east—105 m elevation) (c) Muğla-Gökova-Gökçe village location (37° 08′ 52'' north—28° 20′ 76'' east—12 m elevation). The fruits were rapidly transported to the laboratory in ice box and stored at 4 ± 2 °C before use for 24 h. Wheat starch and granulated sugar from local market in Şanlıurfa, Turkey were used in the production. Transparent zipped bags were used as a packaging material.

Production of concentrated pulp

Firstly, cactus pear fruits picked early in the morning with the help of gloves and tongs, were separated from their cladodes and washed with tap water. Considering the preliminary results, the fruits were soaked in boiling water (3–5 min), and then immediately dipped into the cold water to ease the peeling and remove the surface with sharp spines. Care was taken for not to break the cores during crumbling (Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Blender, 48,165-USA) of the fruits. The mash was then sieved and separated from the fibers and cores to yield cactus pear pulp. The pulp was concentrated to 25° brix, hot-filled to jars and made ready for production.

Cactus pear pestil production

While 3/4 of cactus pear pulp was heated, the remaining part was diluted up to 14° brix and 4% (w/v) of starch was added to this dilution. This starchy mix was added slowly on the heated part and then stirred continuously to 32–35° brix to prevent formation of lumps and uniformly disperse of the starch. The mixture was spread on 20 × 30 cm2 satin fabrics with 2 mm thickness and dried to an average moisture content of 20% at 50 °C both in the oven (OP) (Memmert GmbH + Co. KG, P. O. Box 1720/ D-91107, Schwabach) and industrial type pilot scale tray drier (TP) (Fig. 1). Dryers were operated for an hour to reach steady temperature conditions. The controlled conditions for tray dryer were 12% relative humidity and 0.2 m/s air velocity. After drying, pestil samples were pulled from the surface and then stored in a zipped plastic bags at room temperature until analyzed.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

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Pestil samples dried in a Oven type drier and b Tray drier

Analyses

Physicochemical analyses

The width and length of the fruits were determined in “cm” using caliper. The weight, pH and brix were analysed by using RADWAG AS 220.R2 weighing device, Sartorius Basic PB-11 model pH meter and RA-500 model KEM digital refractometer, respectively. Total dry matter was determined gravimetrically. Titratable acidity was expressed as g citric acid/100 mL (AOAC 2000). The HunterLab Colour Analyzer (MSEZ4500L; Virginia, USA) was used for measuring the CIE L*, a*, b*, chroma (*C) and hue angle (*h) values of the pulp and pestil samples. Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) was spectrophotometrically identified by measuring the absorbance of the red color formed by the reaction of samples with barbituric acid and p-toluidine (Zappalà et al. 2005).

The mineral elements of cactus pear pulps and pestils were determined in the incinerated samples treated with HNO3 (4 mL) and H2O2 (3 mL) in Berghof MWS2 model microwave digestion system. 0.5 g of the digested sample was transferred to a 50 mL volumetric flask and diluted with ultra pure water containing 0.03% HNO3. Sodium (Na), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) contents were obtained by Ependorf Elex 6361 Flame photometer (Horneck and Miller 1998); magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe) contents were determined by Perkin Elmer OPTIMA 2100DV model ICP OES (Isaac and Johnson 1998).

Bioactive analyses

The amount of ascorbic acid was assessed by reduction of 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol dye through the reaction using Shimadzu UV 1208 model spectrophotometer (Simona et al. 2011).

The extraction procedure of antioxidants and phenolic compounds was performed according to Vitali et al. (2009). The method carried out to determine antioxidant capacity in fruits and pestils was based on inhibition of the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in methanolic extracts of the samples (Zhang and Hamauzu 2004). In this method, the absorbance of extracted samples reacted with free radical for 30 min at room temperature was measured at 517 nm, and the inhibition percentage of DPPH radical was calculated. The results were expressed on dry weight basis to compare the raw material and pestil samples with different dry matter contents. The method employed for the total phenolics was based on Folin–Ciocalteau’s phenol reagent and spectrophotometric determinations were carried out at 452 nm using a Shimadzu UV 1208 spectrophotometer, and the results were calculated as gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per kg (ISO 14502–1:2005).

Sensory analysis

The pestil samples were also evaluated based on color, appearance, taste, aroma, flexibility and chewability by a sensory panel consisting of ten trained members using a 5-point hedonic scale. The results were rated on points as 5: like extremely, 4: like moderately, 3: like slightly, 2: neither like nor dislike 1: dislike extremely.

Statistical analysis

The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The results were statistically evaluated by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the SPSS software package (IBM.SPSS. Statistics.v21 version) (p < 0.05).

Results and discussion

Physicochemical properties of cactus pears

The width, weight, water soluble dry matter, total dry matter and ascorbic acid contents of cactus pears collected from three different regions were statistically different (p < 0.05) (Table 1). According to the results of different studies, the weight of fruit changes between 48.70–160 g (Felker et al. 2002; Toplu et al. 2009; Elfinti et al. 2013). The width and length were determined as 48.10–60.00 mm and 63.27–111.00 mm by Kabas et al. (2006) and Parish and Felker (1997). It has been reported that the difference in fruit weight and size depends on the genotype and origin of the fruit. The location, shade density and harvest time of the fruit also causes this change. Cactus pears can contain between 100 and 300 seeds on average and these seeds constitute about 10–15% of the edible pulp and affect the weight of the fruit.

Table 1.

Analysis results of the raw-material

MS* MSA** MGG***
Width 5.18 ± 0.11b 5.77 ± 0.11a 4.93 ± 0.07c
Length 8.20 ± 0.32a 7.95 ± 0.19a,b 7.59 ± 0.27b
Weight 106.59 ± 1.67b 124.4 ± 1.94a 100.58 ± 2.90c
Titratable acidity (g/100 g) 0.09 ± 0.00a 0.07 ± 0.00b 0.09 ± 0.00a
pH 5.36 ± 0.02b 5.47 ± 0.00a 5.50 ± 0.01a
Brix (g/100 g) 12.10 ± 0.1c 14.40 ± 0.1a 13.23 ± 0.05b
L* 36.36 ± 0.43b 31.02 ± 0.91c 37.98 ± 0.33a
a* 26.79 ± 0.40b 29.09 ± 0.48a 26.24 ± 0.57b
b* 50.60 ± 0.89a 45.61 ± 0.68b 33.50 ± 0.25c
C* 57.26 ± 0.96a 54.10 ± 0.59b 42.56 ± 0.48c
h* 62.10 ± 0.17a 57.45 ± 0.62b 51.93 ± 0.54c
Total dry matter (g/100 g) 12.64 ± 0.07c 15.86 ± 0.17a 13.57 ± 0.04b
Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g) 16.69 ± 0.56c 30.87 ± 0.38a 22.04 ± 0.75b
Total phenolic content (g GAE/kg) 6.96 ± 10.50b 7.48 ± 17.75a 7.06 ± 12.08b
Antioxidant capacity (%) 72.86 ± 0.02b 75.96 ± 0.03a 73.59 ± 0.02b
Na (mg/kg) 125.6 ± 0.11a,b 149.5 ± 0.12a 81.4 ± 2.68b
K (mg/kg) 833.5 ± 0.40b 1392.2 ± 0.15a 583.35 ± 0.41b
Ca (mg/kg) 238.6 ± 0.11c 1024.5 ± 0.53a 501.3 ± 1.14b
Mg (mg/kg) 348.9 ± 0.91a 307.3 ± 0.74b 287.1 ± 0.35b
Fe (mg/kg) 2.4 ± 0.35b 4.60 ± 0.74b 14.44 ± 2.07a
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Values in the same line having the same letter for each parameter are not significantly different at a confidence level of 95%

*MS:Fruits obtained from Muğla − Seydikemer district

**MSA:Fruits obtained from Mersin−Silifke−Akdere location

***MGG:Fruits obtained from Muğla−Gökova−Gökçe village location

Toplu et al. (2009) found the acidity, pH and brix of cactus pear pulps in the range of 0.12–0.33 g/100 g, 5.25–6.10, 8.80–14.20%, respectively. While pH and brix values determined in this study were similar with the results of these researchers, the acidity was lower due to variety, maturity and region. MGG sample showed no significant difference in total acidity compared with MS and pH with MSA (p > 0.05). The total dry matter results differed according to the regions where the fruits were collected (p < 0.05) and it was in parallel with the results of the water soluble dry matter. The low values of brix, total dry matter, ascorbic acid, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of MS sample were indicatives of a more immature composition compared to others.

Cactus pear pulp color values (except a value) in all regions (MS-MSA-MGG) were statistically different from each other (p < 0.05). Furthermore, MSA coded fruits with high phenolic content have a high redness value and low brightness value, which were associated with a darker fruit inner color. The color tone (hue angle) and color intensity (chroma) values of MGG sample were low even the redness value of the same sample was observed to be low in parallel with these values.

MSA coded fruits were rich in sodium, potassium and calcium minerals compared to all other samples. MS coded fruits were rich in magnesium and MGG coded ones had a higher iron content than other regions (p < 0.05). This could be related with the mineral composition of soil where fruits were collected (Vos and Arancon 2020).

Bioactive properties of cactus pears

Diaz Medina et al. (2007) and Toplu et al. (2009) determined the amount of ascorbic acid in cactus pear fruits as 17.1–29.2 mg/100 g dry weight and 18.04–37.31 mg/100 g dry weight, respectively. The data obtained in our study were similar to the literature data, but they were quite different from each other and this difference was probably related to the environmental conditions of the regions where the fruits were collected (p < 0.05).

The highest phenol content was 7.48 g GAE/kg dry weight in MSA coded cactus pears, followed by MGG and MS coded fruits respectively (Table 1). The phenolic contents of MS and MGG coded fruits were not statistically different and the results were in agreement with the color and antioxidant capacity values.

Although antioxidant capacity of cactus pears was closer to each other, % inhibition value of MSA fruits was statistically higher than MS and MGG fruits (p < 0.05). The amounts of phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid were correlated with antioxidant capacity values (Van de Velde et al. 2016; Schulz et al. 2019). Kuti (2004) reported the highest amount of antioxidant capacity in purple colored cactus pear fruits and the lowest value in yellow ones.

Physicochemical properties of pestil samples

Significant changes in terms of physicochemical properties have been determined as a result of processing of fruit to pestil. As seen in Table 2, drying methods had a significant  impact on the color of fruit pestils (p < 0.05). Fruits collected from different regions had a statistically significant effect on color (p < 0.05). L*, b*, C*, h* values of TP were higher than those obtained by oven drying. a* redness value of the products was statistically lower (p < 0.05) in all products obtained by industrial type drying compared to oven drying. Maskan et al. (2002) reported that an increase in a* value is a negative feature for grape pestil. The low a* value of the TP (MGG and MS) had a positive effect on consumer preferences (Fig. 2). Additionally, different drier types did not show a statistically significant difference on hue angle values of MGG coded cactus pear pestils (p > 0.05).

Table 2.

Analysis results of cactus pear pestil samples

Drier type Pestil dried with oven drier (OP) Pestil dried with tray drier (TP)
Region of fruit collection MS* MSA** MGG*** MS* MSA** MGG***
L* 59.51 ± 0.83a,2* 48.69 ± 0.96c,2 51.83 ± 0.22b,2 63.94 ± 0.85a,1 54.35 ± 0.70c,1 55.93 ± 0.46b,1
a* 22.62 ± 0.81c,1 24.95 ± 0.59a,1 23.52 ± 0.55b,1 14.01 ± 0.4c,2 22.27 ± 0.23a,2 19.31 ± 0.49b,2
b* 59.90 ± 0.98a,2 42.05 ± 0.23b,2 48.56 ± 0.11c,2 65.21 ± 0.11a,1 51.7 ± 0.79c,1 56.16 ± 0.59b,1
C* 64.03 ± 1.17a,2 48.89 ± 0.50c,2 52.26 ± 0.27b,2 66.70 ± 0.17a,1 56.29 ± 0.68c,1 60.88 ± 0.67b,1
h* 69.31 ± 0.43a,2 59.32 ± 0.46c,2 68.31 ± 0.46b,1 77.87 ± 0.32a,1 66.68 ± 0.46c,1 67.27 ± 0.42b,1
Total dry matter (g/100 g) 80.62 ± 0.22b,1* 79.69 ± 0.30c,1 82.65 ± 0.42a,1 79.79 ± 0.53b,1 80.38 ± 0.39b,1 83.01 ± 0.41a,1
Total phenolic content (g GAE/kg) 1.76 ± 13.33c,2* 1.92 ± 12.82a,2 1.85 ± 13.22b,2 1.79 ± 19.83c,1 2.01 ± 15.55a,1 1.88 ± 14.43b,1
Antioxidant capacity (%) 62.59 ± 0.07c,2 69.11 ± 0.14a,,2 66.01 ± 0.02b,1 67.97 ± 0.02b,1 70.25 ± 0.06a,1 66.91 ± 0.05c,1
HMF(mg/kg) 11.34 ± 0.53b,1 13.25 ± 0.48a,1 10.42 ± 0.53b,1 8.58 ± 0.53a,2 7.05 ± 0.53b,2 7.97 ± 0.53a,b,2
Na (mg/kg) 681.9 ± 21.49a,2 737.6 ± 32.91a,1 513.0 ± 25.48b,1 1086.0 ± 20.57a,1 602.3 ± 5.68c,1 680.8 ± 2.45b,1
K (mg/kg) 7230.0 ± 36.60b,1 9289.6 ± 21.17a,1 5991.6 ± 13.58c,1 6431.7 ± 16.30b,1 8456.4 ± 0.98a,1 5940.1 ± 15.98b,1
Ca (mg/kg) 3465.9 ± 6.18b,1 5060.1 ± 9.25a,1 3480.0 ± 4.52b,1 3221.7 ± 15.78c,1 4734.9 ± 18.12a,1 3867.0 ± 9.58b,1
Mg (mg/kg) 1936.2 ± 10.32a,1 1872.4 ± 25.48b,1 1871.5 ± 15.64b,1 1774.4 ± 6.15a,2 1784.4 ± 5.46a,1 1782.7 ± 3.68a,1
Fe (mg/kg) 35.80 ± 4.37a,1 21.59 ± 2.54b,1 19.85 ± 1.85b,1 20.41 ± 5.50a,1 19.88 ± 3.58a,1 15.67 ± 1.28a,1
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Values in the same line having the same letter and number for each parameter are not significantly different at a confidence level of 95%. The letters represent the regional differences and the numbers represent the drying methods differences

*MS:Fruits obtained from Muğla − Seydikemer district

**MSA:Fruits obtained from Mersin−Silifke−Akdere location

***MGG:Fruits obtained from Muğla−Gökova−Gökçe village location

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

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Sensory analysis results of pestil samples. MS−OP: Pestil produced from Muğla−Seydikemer fruits and dried with oven drier, MSA−OP: Pestil produced from Mersin−Silifke−Akdere fruits and dried with oven drier, MGG−OP: Pestil produced from Muğla−Gökova−Gökçe fruits and dried with oven drier, MS−TP: Pestil produced from Muğla−Seydikemer fruits and dried with tray drier, MSA−TP: Pestil produced from Mersin−Silifke−Akdere fruits and dried with tray drier, MGG−TP: Pestil produced from Muğla−Gökova−Gökçe fruits and dried with tray drier

Cactus pear pestils reached to the desired form and dry matter in 8 h in industrial type dryer and 12 h in oven dryer. Considering the relationship between time of the process, pigment degradation and HMF formation (Rufián-Henares and Delgado-Andrade 2009), it was expected to get lower L* values and higher HMF levels in the products of oven dryer (Table 2). Considering the dry matter content and fibrous structure of fruit used in pestil production, it was aimed to gain the reliability of the product besides generating a positive effect on consumer preferences in order to provide desired flexibility and chewability in the product.

It was determined that cactus pear products dried in oven type dryer had higher HMF content compared to TP (p < 0.05). This was associated with the heat exposure time. Luminosity value of the same sample with high HMF content was also low. Oktay (2013) noted that high HMF levels of products, produced by traditional methods, could be decreased significantly in case the drying process is carried out under vacuum or controlled conditions. The same researcher determined the mean amount of HMF as 27.94 mg/kg in plain pestil, 21.42 mg/kg in hazelnut-added pestil and 18.15 mg/kg in walnut-added pestil. Suna et al. (2014) found the highest amount of HMF in apricot pestil as 45.64 mg/kg in sun-dried samples, followed by vacuum-dried samples (19.39 mg/kg) and microwave-dried samples (13.62 mg/kg), respectively. In our study, HMF content of pestils were generally lower than the literature data due to the composition differences of material as well as different process conditions.

The body needs many minerals, especially essential ones. Intake of all of the essential macro-minerals with daily diet provides proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, muscle contraction, blood pressure regulation, immune system health in general (Bielecka et al. 2021). The cactus pear fruit and pestil were especially rich in potassium. The differences between the mineral contents of fruits and dried products were due to the proportional increase in dry matter content after removal of water (p < 0.05). It was revealed that the drying methods had a significant difference in only Na content of oven dried pestil and Mg content of TP, whereas Mg and Fe content did not change depending on regional origin in tray dried samples (p > 0.05). Suna et al. (2014) similarly found higher amounts of K, Ca and Mg in apricot pestil. K content of apricot pestil (Suna et al. 2014) was 2 times higher than that of cactus pear pestil, while other minerals were lower, which is related to the mineral content of the raw material.

According to the “Recommended Dietary Allowance” quantities (Geil 2011), 100 g of pestil consumption meets the daily Na, K, Ca, Mg and Fe requirements by 5, 16, 42, 47 and 20% on average, respectively. From this point of view, it can be said that fruit leather obtained from cactus pear is a good source, especially in meeting the need for calcium and magnesium.

Bioactive properties of pestil samples

Drying process caused a reduction (73.92% on average) in total polyphenol content of products compared to raw material due to activation of oxidative enzymes or binding of polyphenols to proteins, and changes in chemical structures (Kamiloglu et al. 2016). Özkan Karabacak (2019), Suna (2019) and Tontul and Topuz (2019) determined similar reductions in content of bioactive compounds after drying in blackthorn pestil, medlar fruit pestil and pomegranate pestil, respectively. The total polyphenol content of cactus pear pestil was statistically affected by drying method and the region where the raw material was collected (p < 0.05). The processing in oven type dryer caused significantly higher loss in polyphenol content of products compared to pestils processed in industrial type dryer. This is associated with the longer drying time in the oven dryer, which results in further degradation of polyphenols by heat (Özkan Karabacak 2019; Suna 2019; Seremet (Ceclu) et al. 2020). Suna et al. (2014) reported a significant effect of different drying methods on total phenolic content of apricot pestils and the results were decreased from 60.34 mg GAE/100 g to 121.24 mg GAE/kg after sun drying, 120.06 mg GAE/kg after microwave drying and 110.03 mg GAE/kg after vacuum drying. In this study, the total phenolic content of cactus pear pestils similarly decreased compared to fresh fruit as a result of drying process.

The difference between drying methods had a statistically significant effect on antioxidant capacity of the products as in phenolic content (p < 0.05). The antioxidant capacity of TP was slightly higher than that of OP similar to phenolic content (p < 0.05). Regional differences were also redounded on antioxidant capacity results and the difference was statistically significant.

Sensory evaluation of pestil samples

MGG-TP had the highest score and perception from the panelists in terms of general evaluation of color, appearance, taste, aroma, flexibility and chewability according to 5-point hedonic scale (Fig. 2). The lower color density (related with its chroma and hue angle values) and higher L* value of this raw-material (MGG) could be resulted a desired color in heat applied pestil product compared to others. As the 9-point hedonic scale is more complicated for evaluaters, 5-point scale was chosen for comparing samples. Different drying methods did not have a significant effect on sensory analysis results (p > 0.05), but regional differences were reflected in color and appearance of products obtained from MSA coded cactus pears (p < 0.05). It could be the result of initial color differences, high dry matter and phenolic content of the raw-material.

Conclusion

The cactus pear fruits harvested from Mersin-Silifke-Akdere location had the highest nutritive content in terms of ascorbic acid, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and minerals. This research showed that the cactus pear, which has a high nutritive value but short harvest season, has a good potential to be processed into value added new products. Pestil produced from the fruits obtained from MSA location had the highest bioactive and mineral content correlatively with its raw-material. The shorter drying time in tray drier resulted in a high quality pestil compared to uncontrolled conventional methods. The regional diffences impacted the sensory properties of pestil samples, however the drier type had no significant effect on evaluated sensorial criteria. Thus, this product has been proposed as an alternative healthy snack that is needed in the market, especially suitable for the consumption of children in order to reduce the intake of sugar, chocolate and fast-food.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Bursa Uludag University Scientific Research Committee for financially supporting this research project (Project No: HDP (Z) 2016/54). All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [Bige İncedayı and Nevin Doğan]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [Bige İncedayı].

Abbreviations

OP

Pestil dried with oven drier

TP

Pestil dried with tray drier

C

Chroma

C

Chroma

h

Hue angle

HMF

Hydroxymethylfurfural

DPPH

2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl

GAE

Gallic acid equivalent

Na

Sodium

K

Potassium

Ca

Calcium

Mg

Magnesium

Fe

Iron

MS

Fruits obtained from Muğla-Seydikemer district

MSA

Fruits obtained from Mersin-Silifke-Akdere location

MGG

Fruits obtained from Muğla-Gökova-Gökçe village location

Authors' contributions

Bİ: Methodology, Investigation, Data Curation, Writing-Review & Editing. ND: Methodology, Investigation, Data Curation. ÖUÇ: Resources, Supervision.

Funding

This study was supported by Bursa Uludag University Scientific Research Projects Unit (Project No: HDP (Z) 2016/54).

Declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Footnotes

Publisher's Note

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