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What Is Nopal
The prickly pear cactus is well known as the nopal in Mexico and belongs to the genus Opuntia, the most abundant plants of the arid regions of the Western Hemisphere. Opuntia can be found as far north as the provinces of Canada to as far south as the Strait of Magellan. Nature separates Opuntias into two distinctive groups.
The first group have stems made up of rounded or cylindrical joints known in Mexico as chollas. The second group have stems that are large flattened joints known in Mexico as nopales. Their green stems and fruits have been a source of food for the Indians of North and South America well before the colonial period, deep within Pre- Columbian times.
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The early and widespread integration of nopal into the indigenous diet demonstrates an instinctive and pragmatic awareness of the nutritive value of this plant.
This nopal cactus has a long history of use as food and medicine. Its fleshy, leaf-like stems (cladodes), especially when young, are eaten as vegetables. The fruit is eaten raw, fermented into a beer, or turned into a cheese-like food. Medicinally, nopal fruit, stems, and flowers have been used to treat diabetes, stomach problems, fatigue, shortness of breath, easy bruising, prostate enlargement, and liver disease.
Nopal is also a significant source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Nopal cactus is rich in vitamins A, C, K, B6 and riboflavin. It also is an abundant source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, iron and copper. For thousands of years, the people of the Sonoran Desert have tapped into the healing power of its native plants.
Nopal was the lifeblood of ancient cultures in Mexico for it was both food for the indigenous tribes and their livestock. Nopal was also used to soothe wounds and stiffen cloth, purify water and waterproof paint. It strengthened mortar and was used to fence off valued animals and to protect habitats from wild ones. Cattle that grazed on the Nopales were said to produce a unique flavor to their meat and milk.
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