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Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Opuntia ficus-indica

Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae)

Common Names
Indian Fig; Prickly Pear; Nopal; Nopalito
How this plant is used
Food

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View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
BETANIN 5 Fruit 7.9 *
CALCIUM 28 Bud 560.0 -1.00 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
CALCIUM 28 Fruit 180.0 3065.0 -0.18 *
CALCIUM 28 Be 560.0 *
CALCIUM-OXALATE 4 Fruit Abstract (See species file)
CALCIUM-OXALATE 4 Leaf *
CAMPESTEROL 2 Seed Oil 140000.0 *
CARBOHYDRATES 0 Bud 118600.0 -1.00 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
CARBOHYDRATES 0 Fruit 56000.0 892000.0 0.58 *
CARBOHYDRATES 0 Seed 482000.0 558000.0 0.14 *
CELLULOSE 1 Fruit 13000.0 -0.53 List, P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
CHOLESTEROL 1 Seed Oil 15000.0 *
CITRIC-ACID 23 Fruit 475.0 4560.0 -0.58 *
CITRIC-ACID 23 Leaf 310.0 -0.63 *
COPPER 12 Seed 3.4 -1.04 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
CYSTEINE 13 Seed 5740.0 0.20 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
DEHYDROASCORBIC-ACID 0 Fruit Juice 30.0 Rizk, A.F.M. and Al-Nowaihi, A.S., The Phytochemistry of the Horticultural Plants of Qatar, Scientific and Applied Research Centre, University of Qatar.
FAT 0 Bud 24800.0 1.00 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
FAT 0 Fruit 4000.0 29400.0 -0.42 *
FAT 0 Seed 54000.0 182000.0 -0.44 *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
Download these results as:
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EXCEL
PDF
List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
Interferonogenic 1 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Iodothyronine-Deiodinase-Inhibitor 2 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Irritant 6 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
JNK-Inhibitor 1 *
Juvabional 1 Jacobson, M., Glossary of Plant-Derived Insect Deterrents, CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 213 p, 1990.
Larvistat 1 Lydon, J. & Duke, S., The potential of pesticides from plants, pp. 1-41 in Craker, L. & Simon, J., eds, Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants: Recent Advances in Botany, Horticulture, & Pharmacology, v. 4, Oryx Press, Phoenix, 1989, 267pp.
Laxative 5 *
Laxative? 2 Lawrence Review of Natural Products, Sep-91.
Leptingenic 1 Challem, J., Berkson, Burt, and Smith, Melissa Dianne. 2000.
Syndrome X - The complete nutritional program to prevent and reservse insulin resistance. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 272 pp. $24.95
Lipotropic 1 Merck 11th Edition
Lipoxygenase-Inhibitor 5 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Lithogenic 2 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Litholytic 2 Martindale's 29th
Lubricant 3 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
MAO-A-Inhibitor 1 *
MAO-Inhibitor 3 *
MAPK-Inhibitor 1 *
Memory-Enhancer 1 Science News, 138: 189, 1990.
Metalloproteinase-Inhibitor 1 *
Metastatic 1 Science News, 146: 421.