Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Phenolic Composition of <i>Opuntia ficus-indica</i> Cladodes Collected from Moroccan Settat Region

Opuntia ficus-indica cladode growing in Settat region of Morocco was freshly consumed and traditionally used in folk medicine for health benefits by the local people. The antioxidant activity and the chemical compounds of it were studied using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and spectrophotometric techniques. The antioxidant activity screened using three complimentary tests; namely, ABTS, DPPH and FRAP activities. In addition, total phenolic, flavonoid and tannins contents of the extracts were also determined as gallic acid, rutin and tannic acid equivalents, respectively. In the extracts, total phenolic content ranged between 73.1±2.1 and 111.2±5.8 mg/g gallic acid equivalents while flavonoid content between 22±2.0 and 27.0±4.0 mg/g rutin equivalents and tannin content between 5.93±0.07 and 6.17±0.06 mg/g tannic acid equivalents. As a conclusion, the results highlighted that cactus cladode is a source of antioxidant phenolic compounds. Thus, the extracts of cladodes will be probably used for the development of safe food products and/or additives.