Mexico is one of the largest producers of nopal （Opuntiaficus indica）. This ＂vegetable＂ is consumed on a daily basis by the Mexican population, being a source of food nutrients. Among its benefits, it is considere...Mexico is one of the largest producers of nopal （Opuntiaficus indica）. This ＂vegetable＂ is consumed on a daily basis by the Mexican population, being a source of food nutrients. Among its benefits, it is considered the content of potassium, which is essential for human life and health. In this study, it analyzes the content of potassium of the Mexican cactus （Opuntiaficus indica） grown in 5 different regions in the Mexican Basin, where 67% of the nopal is produced for human consumption. The used methodology is gamma spectrometry with Hyperpure Germanium detector （HPGe） and Multichannel Analyzer （MCA） with Maestro~ software. The results show interesting aspects on the concentration of potassium in the nopal. This concentration will primarily depend on： （a） the geological characteristics of the location where the nopal was grows; （b） that potassium concentrations may vary substantially from a region to another, with the same species of nopal as a reference and （c） that this concentration may also vary from one growing season to another.展开更多
文摘Mexico is one of the largest producers of nopal （Opuntiaficus indica）. This ＂vegetable＂ is consumed on a daily basis by the Mexican population, being a source of food nutrients. Among its benefits, it is considered the content of potassium, which is essential for human life and health. In this study, it analyzes the content of potassium of the Mexican cactus （Opuntiaficus indica） grown in 5 different regions in the Mexican Basin, where 67% of the nopal is produced for human consumption. The used methodology is gamma spectrometry with Hyperpure Germanium detector （HPGe） and Multichannel Analyzer （MCA） with Maestro~ software. The results show interesting aspects on the concentration of potassium in the nopal. This concentration will primarily depend on： （a） the geological characteristics of the location where the nopal was grows; （b） that potassium concentrations may vary substantially from a region to another, with the same species of nopal as a reference and （c） that this concentration may also vary from one growing season to another.
