en تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background: </strong>The xoconostle (<em>Opuntia joconostle</em> Web.) plant is produced mainly in the Central Highlands region of Mexico. The main aim of this research was to determine the effect of pasteurization on chemical and functional properties of xoconostle juice.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods:</strong> Total Soluble Solids (TSS), pH, Titratable Acidity (TA), total phenolic and flavonoid content, betacyanins, betaxanthins, and reducing and non-reducing sugars contents were determined in both unpasteurized and pasteurized xoconostle juices. <em>In vivo</em> assay using Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) was done in male rats to evaluate the anti-hyperglycemic effect of juice. Data were statistically analyzed using SigmaPlot.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> There was a meaningful increasing (<em>p</em><0.05) in the pigment contents after the pasteurization process, as betacyanins and betaxanthins contents increased to 0.112 and 0.096 &micro;g/g, respectively. In spite of pasteurized xoconostle, the unpasteurized group showed anti-hyperglycemic effects at 60 min of OGTT.<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Pasteurization temperature had no adverse effect on the antioxidant activities of xoconostle fruit. Although fresh xoconostle juice revealed considerable anti-hyperglycemic properties in rats, this effect was not found in the pasteurized xoconostle juice.<br> <br> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><strong>DOI:</strong> 10.18502/jfqhc.7.1.2447</span></span><br> &nbsp;</div> Opuntia, Fruit and Vegetable Juices, Pasteurization, Food Analysis , Models, Animal, Glucose Tolerance Test 11 17 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-838-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 S.I. Gómez-Covarrubias No Laboratorio de Postcosecha de Recursos Fitogenéticos y Productos Naturales, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud UAM-Iztapalapa, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina 09340 CDMX, México F. Rivera-Cabrera No Laboratorio de Postcosecha de Recursos Fitogenéticos y Productos Naturales, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud UAM-Iztapalapa, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina 09340 CDMX, México J.I. Mendoza-Gastelum No Universidad Autónoma de Durango, Centro Plaza Mochis 81254, Los Mochis Sinaloa, México V.H. Oidor-Chan No Laboratorio de Postcosecha de Recursos Fitogenéticos y Productos Naturales, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud UAM-Iztapalapa, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina 09340 CDMX, México R.C. Aarland No . Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Vegetal, Centro Universitario de la Ciénega, Universidad de Guadalajara, Av. Universidad 1115, Col. Linda Vista 47810, Ocotlán, Jal., México F. Cruz-Sosa No Departamento de Biotecnología, UAM-Iztapalapa, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina 09340 CDMX, México F. Díaz de León-Sánchez No Laboratorio de Postcosecha de Recursos Fitogenéticos y Productos Naturales, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud UAM-Iztapalapa, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina 09340 CDMX, México J.A. Mendoza-Espinoza josealberto.mendoza@uacm.edu.mx 0000-0003-1139-9662 Yes Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades, Academia de Biología Humana, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, Ermita Iztapalapa 4163, Lomas de Zaragoza, 09620 CDMX, México