Determination of Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) Grown in Turkey and its Evaluation in Fermented Beverage Production
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TÜBİTAK MAM Marmara Araştırma Merkezi, Gebze-Kocaeli
Abstract
In this study, the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the peel and pulp of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) from Mersin and Antalya were investigated, and a functional beverage was developed by fermenting the fruit extract with water kefir grains. Antimicrobial activity was determined using the disk diffusion method, while antioxidant capacity was assessed via DPPH and ABTS assays. The physicochemical, microbiological, and bioactive properties of the fermented beverage were characterized. Prickly pear extracts showed significant inhibition against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (p<0.05). The antimicrobial activity of the pulp extract was higher than that of the peel. In antioxidant analyses, the pulp extract exhibited statistically higher DPPH and total phenolic content values compared to the peel extract (p<0.05). During fermentation, significant increases in lactic acid bacteria and yeast populations were observed. At the end of day 3, viable probiotic counts were 6.82 log cfu ml⁻¹ for Lactobacillus spp., 7.57 log cfu ml⁻¹ for Lactococcus spp., and 7.77 log cfu ml⁻¹ for yeasts. In conclusion, the strong antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of prickly pear support its potential as a functional food ingredient. The water kefir-fermented beverage offers a non-dairy, value-added product with high probiotic viability.
ÖZER, H. (2026). Determination of Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) Grown in Turkey and its Evaluation in Fermented Beverage Production. ISPEC Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 10(1), 241–252. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18650861
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