EFFECT OF ALTITUDE ON POLYPHENOLIC PROFILE OF ‘DELLAHIA’ PRICKLY PEAR (Opuntia ficus-indica) JUICE FROM NORTHERN MOROCCO

The present investigation was undertaken for the purpose of evaluating the effect of altitude on the polyphenolic profile of ‘Dellahia’ prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) juice from Northern Morocco. At the light of this work, the main phenolic compounds of this variety of pricky pear juice are respectively Vanillic acid, Vanillin, Shikimic acid, Ascorbic acid and Quinic acid. In general, 17 phenolic compounds have been identified and quantified, 11 of them are phenolic acids and 6 flavonoids. Samples from the highest altitude present more phenolic compounds than samples from the lowest altitude. So, the effect of altitude on phenolic compounds detected is not exclusive. For instance, samples from high altitude contain the highest content of Vanillic acid (‘Bou’, 573 m: 22.05 mg/L ; ‘Tiz’, 712 m : 15.71 mg/L ), Oxalic acid (‘Tiz’, 712 m: 0.47 mg/L) Ascorbic acid (‘Bou’, 573 m: 8.51 mg/L), Gallic acid (‘Bou’, 573 m: 0.09 mg/L), Salicylic acid (‘Bou’, 573 m: 0.16 mg/L), Hydroxyquinone (‘Bou’, 573 m: 0.09 mg/L), Trans-Sinapic acid (‘Bou’, 573 m: 0.62 mg/L), Rutin (‘Bou’, 573 m: 0.04 mg/L), Quercetin (‘Bou’, 573 m: 0.16 mg/L), Vanillin (‘Bou’, 573 m: 13.05 mg/L ; ‘Tiz’, 712 m : 12.15 mg/L) and Epicatechin (‘Bou’, 573 m : 0.10 mg/L). Moreover, samples from low altitude contain the highest content of Quinic acid (‘Mes’, 119 m: 2.89 ± 0.350), Resorcynol (‘Mes’, 119 m: 0.39 ± 0.031 mg/L) and Shikimic acid (‘Wah’, 482 m: 11.17 mg/L). According to é-tailed Pearson correlation test, significance differences were only observed about Salicylic, Benzoic, Trans-Sinapic acids, Quercetine, Resorcynol, Epicatechin and samples total identified phenolic compounds.