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Opuntia ficus-indica is well-known in Algeria for its nutritional and therapeutic properties. Our study aims to determine the physicochemical properties, the functional groups and the antioxidant activity of cactus seed oil and thus contribute to the valorization of seeds. The extraction of prickly pear seed oil with cold-press provided a yield of 4.26± 0.93%. The evaluation of the its physicochemical parameters by the norms of AFNOR yielded the following results: density: 0.908± 0.00030 kg/dm; RI: 1.4714±0,00010; AV: 1.4± 0.09 mg KOH/g; IV: 114.08± 0.67 g I 2/100 g; SV: 188.94± 0.58 mg KOH / g; ES: 187.54±0.49 mg KOH/g; PV: 1.56 g O2/g; chlorophyll number: 1.076 and Carotenoids number: 0.315. FTIR spectrum was used to determine the functional groups and type of associated vibrations in the extract oil, which was scanned in the range (4000-400) cm -1. The FTIR results showed that the oil extract contains fatty acid methyl esters, revealing functional groups with ranges of properties, H-C = O, -(CH2) n -, C-O, C = C and C = O in the spectrum. The analysis of antioxidant activity using DPPH and FRAP methods showed that the OFI seed oil had a significant activity in capturing free radicals (IC50= 0.050 mg/mL), (EC50 = 0.123 mg/mL) respectively. We conclude from this current study that this oil can be used in folk medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven date seeds cultivars, Deglet Nour, Degla Baïdha, Fakht, Ghars, Hamraya, Tafezouin and Takermost were provided from Algerian Sahara. Some of these Algerian date seeds were studied for the first time (Fakht, Hamraya and Takermost). The biochemical characterization of these date seeds were studied, including fatty acids and minerals profiles. The results showed that date seeds are a good source of carbohydrates and crude cellulose, with averages of 66.63 and 13.20%, respectively. They are also a good source of proteins, with the cultivar Deglet Nour seeds as the richest one (9.27 ± 0.03%). The main fatty acid for all date seeds oils is oleic acid except for Deglet Nour in which lauric acid is the main one. However, the studied date seed oils could be classified as oleic-lauric oil. Potassium was the highest mineral in all date seeds cultivars, with values ranging from 2700 to 2900 mg/Kg, followed by sodium and iron. These results indicate that date seeds have good nutritional value with different compositions among cultivars. It could be concluded that date seeds could be considered as a good opportunity for their technological and industrial valorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]