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Standard analytical procedures were applied to determine proximate composition, individual sugars, fibre content, mineral concentration, and bioactive compounds, followed by antioxidant activity assays. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) were used to explore multivariate patterns and identify variables with the greatest discriminatory power. Results revealed significant inter-varietal differences across all measured parameters (p &lt; 0.05). OR-RV displayed the highest non-fibre carbohydrate, protein, copper, and ascorbic acid contents, as well as superior antioxidant activity. OFI-GV stood out for its high soluble and insoluble fibre, magnesium, and strontium levels, while OFI-YV was characterized by elevated sodium and calcium, and OFI-RV by increased protein and glucose contents. LDA identified ascorbic acid, protein, and five mineral elements (Sr, Zn, Cu, Mn, B) as key discriminant variables, achieving 100% classification accuracy. These findings highlight compositional diversity among Opuntia varieties and support their differentiated use in food and health applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods14183170","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,11]],"date-time":"2025-09-11T14:23:50Z","timestamp":1757600630000},"page":"3170","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Compositional and Bioactive Differentiation of Opuntia spp. Fruit Varieties by PCA and LDA"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4362-8848","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liliana Esp\u00edrito","family":"Santo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV\/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, R. Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Vigo, E-32004 Ourense, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8685-6982","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cl\u00e1udia S. G. P.","family":"Pereira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV\/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, R. Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4136-935X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anabela S. G.","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV\/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, R. Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1297-3198","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agostinho","family":"Almeida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV\/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, R. Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1233-0990","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o C. M.","family":"Barreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mountain Research Centre (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragan\u00e7a, Campus de Santa Apol\u00f3nia, 5300-253 Bragan\u00e7a, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6767-6596","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Beatriz P. P.","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV\/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, R. Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6116-9593","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana F.","family":"Vinha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"FP-I3ID, Research Institute, Innovation and Development Fernando Pessoa, Faculty of Health Sciences, Fernando Pessoa University, Pra\u00e7a 9 Abril 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"328","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodres.2018.06.047","article-title":"Opuntia (Cactaceae) Plant Compounds, Biological Activities and Prospects\u2014A Comprehensive Review","volume":"112","author":"Aruwa","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Res. 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