Potential Use of Prickly Pear Juice Prepared from Shelf-Grown Cultivars as an Authentic and Nutritional Fruit Supplement

As the basic discipline of the Mediterranean diet, the regular consumption of fruits and vegetables has been associated with tremendous health benefits for humans and the defense against numerous diseases. Prickly pear is a well type of fruit cultivated in Mexico and the US, in Central and Northern Europe, and numerous Mediterranean countries. It is considered a sort of exceptional pleasure, while it is generally consumed as fresh fruit or used to produce various products such as canned fruits, sorbets, prickly pear juice, jams, dried fruits, drinks from the fermentation of the fruit’s pulp. Recent studies have demonstrated the nutritional and functional character of prickly pear or its juice as an antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-ulcerative, hepato-protective, and immune-protective food source, based on its phytochemical (flavonoids, phenolic acids, carotenoids), vitamin C, minerals, free amino acids, and phytosterol contents. The present chapter’s objective is to highlight the potential use of prickly pear juice prepared from fruits of the wild cultivars grown in different parts of the Peloponnese Peninsula as an authentic and advanced fruit supplement.