Sensory, morphological, biochemical, and antioxidant characteristics of the fruits of different Cactus Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill.) genotypes

The interest in wild edible fruit species has increased around the world, especially in Türkiye in recent years. One such fruit species is the cactus pear ( Opuntia ficus-indica L.), which is widely grown throughout the Mediterranean basin and has gained economic importance. In this study, we described an important sensory, morphological (including plant growth habit, fruit mass, fruit firmness, fruit skin color, fruit shape index, skin color homogeneity, flesh percentage, and marketable fruit ratio), biochemical (including vitamin C content, pH, titratable acidity, soluble solid content, crude fiber content, total carotenoid content, and total phenol content), and antioxidant characteristics of the fruits of 12 pre-selected cactus pear genotypes with different skin colors sampled from the Mersin province in the eastern Mediterranean region of Türkiye. The 12 cactus pear genotypes examined showed differences in most sensory, morphological, biochemical, and antioxidant features. Although the dominant skin color of the fruit was orange, genotypes with yellow and even red skin colors were also present. Cactus pear genotypes showed fruit mass between 78.14 and 133.22 g and fruit firmness between 7.73 and 11.63 N. For biochemical traits, the genotypes exhibited SSC (Soluble Solid Content) between 11.10% and 15.02%, vitamin C content between 9.22 mg/100 g and 15.22 mg/100 g, crude fiber content between 0.84% and 1.12%, and total carotenoid content between 2.54% and 3.20%. Due to their attractive horticultural characteristics, active components, and ease of cultivation, cactus pear plants and fruits might be valuable in the future.