Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions

Abdoulaye Tamba

doi:doi:10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16

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Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions

Abdoulaye Tamba^*

Published in Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 6)

Received: 4 December 2025 Accepted: 15 December 2025 Published: 29 December 2025

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Abstract

Cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) is a drought-resistant fruit widely grown in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa, Latin America, and the Mediterranean. In recent years, cactus pear juice has gained growing interest in the food and nutraceutical sectors because of its high nutritional value, functional bioactive compounds, and potential health benefits. This narrative review summarizes the current scientific knowledge on cactus pear juice, including its nutritional composition, antioxidant properties, processing potential, and technological constraints. The review highlights factors affecting juice quality such as variety, maturity stage, extraction method, filtration, pasteurization, and storage conditions. Comparative studies show that cactus pear juice is rich in betalains, phenolic compounds, vitamins, and minerals, and demonstrates promising antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties. However, challenges remain related to its mucilage content, enzymatic instability, rapid color degradation, and microbial sensitivity during storage. The review identifies opportunities for industrial exploitation, especially in health beverages, functional food formulations, and value-added products for regions with limited water resources. Future research should focus on improving processing stability, optimizing extraction technologies, validating clinical health benefits, and developing standards for commercialization and quality control. Overall, cactus pear juice shows potential as a sustainable and high-value functional beverage, particularly for countries seeking to diversify their agro-food sectors and reduce post-harvest losses.

Published in	Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16
Page(s)	371-378
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cactus Pear Juice, Opuntia Spp, Functional Beverage, Antioxidants, Nutritional Composition, Processing Technology, Food Innovation

References

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Tamba, A. (2025). Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 13(6), 371-378. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16

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Tamba, A. Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions. J. Food Nutr. Sci. 2025, 13(6), 371-378. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16

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Tamba A. Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions. J Food Nutr Sci. 2025;13(6):371-378. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16

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@article{10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16,
  author = {Abdoulaye Tamba},
  title = {Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions},
  journal = {Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {6},
  pages = {371-378},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfns.20251306.16},
  abstract = {Cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) is a drought-resistant fruit widely grown in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa, Latin America, and the Mediterranean. In recent years, cactus pear juice has gained growing interest in the food and nutraceutical sectors because of its high nutritional value, functional bioactive compounds, and potential health benefits. This narrative review summarizes the current scientific knowledge on cactus pear juice, including its nutritional composition, antioxidant properties, processing potential, and technological constraints. The review highlights factors affecting juice quality such as variety, maturity stage, extraction method, filtration, pasteurization, and storage conditions. Comparative studies show that cactus pear juice is rich in betalains, phenolic compounds, vitamins, and minerals, and demonstrates promising antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties. However, challenges remain related to its mucilage content, enzymatic instability, rapid color degradation, and microbial sensitivity during storage. The review identifies opportunities for industrial exploitation, especially in health beverages, functional food formulations, and value-added products for regions with limited water resources. Future research should focus on improving processing stability, optimizing extraction technologies, validating clinical health benefits, and developing standards for commercialization and quality control. Overall, cactus pear juice shows potential as a sustainable and high-value functional beverage, particularly for countries seeking to diversify their agro-food sectors and reduce post-harvest losses.},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions
AU  - Abdoulaye Tamba
Y1  - 2025/12/29
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16
T2  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
JF  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
JO  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
SP  - 371
EP  - 378
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7293
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16
AB  - Cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) is a drought-resistant fruit widely grown in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa, Latin America, and the Mediterranean. In recent years, cactus pear juice has gained growing interest in the food and nutraceutical sectors because of its high nutritional value, functional bioactive compounds, and potential health benefits. This narrative review summarizes the current scientific knowledge on cactus pear juice, including its nutritional composition, antioxidant properties, processing potential, and technological constraints. The review highlights factors affecting juice quality such as variety, maturity stage, extraction method, filtration, pasteurization, and storage conditions. Comparative studies show that cactus pear juice is rich in betalains, phenolic compounds, vitamins, and minerals, and demonstrates promising antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties. However, challenges remain related to its mucilage content, enzymatic instability, rapid color degradation, and microbial sensitivity during storage. The review identifies opportunities for industrial exploitation, especially in health beverages, functional food formulations, and value-added products for regions with limited water resources. Future research should focus on improving processing stability, optimizing extraction technologies, validating clinical health benefits, and developing standards for commercialization and quality control. Overall, cactus pear juice shows potential as a sustainable and high-value functional beverage, particularly for countries seeking to diversify their agro-food sectors and reduce post-harvest losses.
VL  - 13
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Abdoulaye Tamba

Laboratory of Applied Microbiology and Industrial Engineering, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

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http://orcid.org/0009-0004-8231-7972

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Tamba, A. (2025). Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 13(6), 371-378. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16

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ACS Style

Tamba, A. Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions. J. Food Nutr. Sci. 2025, 13(6), 371-378. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16

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AMA Style

Tamba A. Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions. J Food Nutr Sci. 2025;13(6):371-378. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16

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@article{10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16,
  author = {Abdoulaye Tamba},
  title = {Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions},
  journal = {Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {6},
  pages = {371-378},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfns.20251306.16},
  abstract = {Cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) is a drought-resistant fruit widely grown in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa, Latin America, and the Mediterranean. In recent years, cactus pear juice has gained growing interest in the food and nutraceutical sectors because of its high nutritional value, functional bioactive compounds, and potential health benefits. This narrative review summarizes the current scientific knowledge on cactus pear juice, including its nutritional composition, antioxidant properties, processing potential, and technological constraints. The review highlights factors affecting juice quality such as variety, maturity stage, extraction method, filtration, pasteurization, and storage conditions. Comparative studies show that cactus pear juice is rich in betalains, phenolic compounds, vitamins, and minerals, and demonstrates promising antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties. However, challenges remain related to its mucilage content, enzymatic instability, rapid color degradation, and microbial sensitivity during storage. The review identifies opportunities for industrial exploitation, especially in health beverages, functional food formulations, and value-added products for regions with limited water resources. Future research should focus on improving processing stability, optimizing extraction technologies, validating clinical health benefits, and developing standards for commercialization and quality control. Overall, cactus pear juice shows potential as a sustainable and high-value functional beverage, particularly for countries seeking to diversify their agro-food sectors and reduce post-harvest losses.},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Cactus Pear Juice as a Functional Beverage: Current Knowledge, Technological Developments, and Future Directions
AU  - Abdoulaye Tamba
Y1  - 2025/12/29
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16
T2  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
JF  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
JO  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
SP  - 371
EP  - 378
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7293
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251306.16
AB  - Cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) is a drought-resistant fruit widely grown in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa, Latin America, and the Mediterranean. In recent years, cactus pear juice has gained growing interest in the food and nutraceutical sectors because of its high nutritional value, functional bioactive compounds, and potential health benefits. This narrative review summarizes the current scientific knowledge on cactus pear juice, including its nutritional composition, antioxidant properties, processing potential, and technological constraints. The review highlights factors affecting juice quality such as variety, maturity stage, extraction method, filtration, pasteurization, and storage conditions. Comparative studies show that cactus pear juice is rich in betalains, phenolic compounds, vitamins, and minerals, and demonstrates promising antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties. However, challenges remain related to its mucilage content, enzymatic instability, rapid color degradation, and microbial sensitivity during storage. The review identifies opportunities for industrial exploitation, especially in health beverages, functional food formulations, and value-added products for regions with limited water resources. Future research should focus on improving processing stability, optimizing extraction technologies, validating clinical health benefits, and developing standards for commercialization and quality control. Overall, cactus pear juice shows potential as a sustainable and high-value functional beverage, particularly for countries seeking to diversify their agro-food sectors and reduce post-harvest losses.
VL  - 13
IS  - 6
ER  -

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