Palma forrageira (Opuntia ficus-indica): prospecção das tecnologias e potencialidades de inovação

Abstract

In the current context of rapid and discontinuous changes, technological innovation assumes a preponderant role in generating wealth for nations. Recent scientific research highlights the important role that the Forage Palm (Opuntia ficus-indica) can play, both in traditional activities such as human and animal feeding, and in advanced applications such as medicine and pharmacology, nutrition, chemical engineering, biotechnology and water and soil treatment. The aim of this study is to survey the technological innovation potential associated with the Forage Palm. This is a qualitative study, which uses research on the basis of scientific publications and patents, with the purpose of conducting a technological survey. The searches were carried out at the bases SCOPUS (Elsevier) and PATENTSCOPE (WIPO). The searches were carried out at the SCOPUS (Elsevier), WEB OF SCIENCE and SCIENCE DIRECT bases, for scientific articles, and PATENTSCOPE (WIPO), ESPACENET (EPO) and INPI, for patents. The results indicate that the Forage Palm presents a high potential to be incorporated in technological innovation projects, given its structural characteristics and possibilities of use in several applications, as well as its employment as an economic alternative to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the population that inhabits the Brazilian semi-arid.