**1.5. Medicinal properties**

Cactus have been used in treating several diseases, such as rheumatic disease, hypertension, diabetes, asthma and gastric mucosa diseases traditionally use as medicine in many countries over the world. This plant contains bioactive molecules that are well known for their health-related properties present in the cactus fruits and cladodes that is the reason for the more focus of many studies. It has been shown that there is a positive correlation between a nutritional rich in prickly pear cactus and a reduced risk of diseases associated with such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases [6].

**2. Materials and Methods**

**2.1. Collection of raw material**

to penetrate the cells.

**2.3. Preparation of fruit extract**

*2.3.1. Soxhlet extraction method*

**Figure 2.** *Opuntia elatior* Mill. fruits.

**2.2. Drying and grinding the plant material**

*Opuntia elatior* Mill plant species fruits were selected and collected between May and June 2017, from the surrounding areas Jamnagar city of Gujarat (**Figure 2**). These fruits were healthy and disease free and were used to check nutritional value and medicinal properties.

Evaluation of Nutritional and Medicinal Properties of *Opuntia elatior* Mill

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The fruits were collected and sliced into small pieces and distributed evenly for homogeneous drying. They were kept to dry at ambient temperature with adequate ventilation. Dry condition is required to prevent microbial contamination and subsequent degradation of metabolites. These fruits were kept away from direct sunlight to minimize chemical reaction which is caused by ultraviolet rays. After drying the fruits, they were grounded into a fine powder and passed through 60 mm mesh, this is then stored in an air tight container, in a dry and cool place. Grinding the fruits into a fine powder, for the extraction procedure, helps increase the surface area thus making it more homogeneous, and therefore making it easy for the solvent

An extract is prepared using the soxhlet extraction method. In this method, "thimble" made up of cellulose or cloth placed put up the material to be extracted is placed in a central compartment, lower compartment connected with a siphon device and side-arm both. The solvent is placed in the lower compartment, and a reflux condenser is attached above the central sample compartment. It is made sure that all the components of the setup are assembled together with appropriate contents to complete the apparatus [12]. For the extraction procedure, three different solvents were used, one after another, they were methanol, hexane and distilled water, respectively. Each extraction procedure took around 6 h. For each extraction, 230 ml of the solvent was placed in the lower compartment. A sample of 25 g of the fruit

*Opuntia* traditionally used as a valuable health supporting nutrient, the vegetative parts of *Opuntia* spp. is scarcely used in modern nutrition and medicine. It is suggested that Opuntia spp. could be considered as a new approach in treating noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Prickly pear is widely used as folk medicine for burned wound and indigestion and it is found that the effect of fruit extract is better than those of stem extract. Fruits are recommended as an expectorant and remedy for whooping cough, asthma, gonorrhea, ulcers, tumors, treatment of diarrhea and syphilis [7].

The presence of potentially active nutrients and their multifunctional properties make fruits and cladodes of *Opuntia* spp. ideal candidates to produce nutraceutical products. In India, traditionally acceptable for its pharmacological properties of prickly pear, but insufficient scientific information and knowledge on these plants is still rarely available. *Opuntia* species in the last several years have been used as antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antioxidant, antiulcer, antiviral, diuretic, immunomodulatory, analgesic and anti-inflammatory, anticancer and neuroprotective. It is also used to improve platelet function, promote wound healing and is nutritionally important [8–11]. A novel food product which is a mixture of both soluble and insoluble fibers made from dehydrated leaves of the cactus *Opuntia is* found to have hypolipaemic properties and hence useful for patients with lipid metabolism disorders.

*Opuntia elatior* (prickly pear) uses as a highly nutritive food. These people are interested in healthy, prevention disease, natural life-style often promote prickly pear fruit used as a nutritional fruit. The fruit reported the anticlotting, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. In India, ethno- medicine, the cactus pulp and juice are used to treat the urinary tract infection, skin wounds, digestive problem and stomach swelling. The natural extract is a useful for alcohol hangovers, and the plant's gel-like sap is often used as a hair conditioner.

This fruit is used commonly by tribal people of the Kachchh region of Gujarat, India. This fruit has high medicinal properties. But information about this fruit regarding the chemical constitutes, nutritional value of fruit and medicinal properties, primary and secondary metabolites unknown is lacking. Thus, this fruit was analyzed for its nutritional value and medicinal properties.

**Figure 1.** *Opuntia elatior* Mill. plant.
