Opuntia ficus indica has been an important dietary source and a traditionally used medicinal plant. Given the promising health-promoting properties of this plant, a comparative toxicological assessment and antioxidant bioevaluation of extracts from different parts of the plant were carried out in relation to their chemical profile. Toxicity was examined at multiple endpoints using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), Comet and the γH2AX In-Cell Western Assay, while hyphenated ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) analysis was carried out to identify main constituents. None of the extracts showed any cytotoxic and genotoxic effect on cell lines used, apart from the flower extract in HepG2 cells at the highest concentration tested (2.5 mg/mL). Both fruit flesh and seed extracts demonstrated a prominent protective effect against H2O2-induced genotoxicity in almost all concentrations tested, while extracts originated from flowers and cladodes were effective only at the low non-cytotoxic (0.312 and 0.625 mg/mL) and high (1.25 and 2.5 mg/mL) concentrations, respectively. In total, 2 phenolic acids, 12 flavonoids, along with 3 feruloyl derivatives and the plant pigment indicaxanthin, were tentatively identified by UHPLC-HRMS analysis. Phenolic acids (compounds 1 and 2) were mainly distributed in cladodes (64.6%), while flavonoids (3-14) in the flowers (81.8%). Overall, the highest amount of total flavonoids (22.76 ± 0.015 mg of quercetin equivalent [QE]/g) and total phenolics (62.80 ± 0.009 mg gallic acid equivalents [GAE]/g) was found in the flower extract. Flavonoid glycosides have not been detected in the seeds and the flesh, while the fruit seed extract contained mainly feruloyl derivatives. Our data provide convincing evidences for the lack of cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of O. ficus indica aqueous extracts and, in parallel, support the potential for further exploitation of this plant in the food supplement or functional food sector.
Keywords: Opuntia ficus indica; antioxidant activity; genotoxicity; phytochemical analysis; toxicity.