An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Plant Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae)

Common Names
Indian Fig; Prickly Pear; Nopal; Nopalito
How this plant is used
Food
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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
SERINE 1 Bud not available 3830.0 not available Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
SERINE 1 Seed not available 7665.0 -0.56 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
SHIKIMIC-ACID 14 Fruit 25.0 220.0 -1.00 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
SODIUM 1 Bud not available 90.0 -1.00 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
SODIUM 1 Seed not available 714.0 0.42 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
STEARIC-ACID 8 Flower not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
STEARIC-ACID 8 Seed 3130.0 10555.0 -0.34 Duke, 1992 *
STEARIC-ACID 8 Seed Oil not available 58000.0 -0.47 Duke, 1992 *
STIGMAST-7-EN-3-BETA-OL 0 Seed Oil not available 70000.0 not available Duke, 1992 *
STIGMASTEROL 12 Seed Oil not available 65000.0 not available Duke, 1992 *
SUCCINIC-ACID 7 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
SUCROSE 14 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
SUGARS 0 Fruit 56000.0 560000.0 1.43 ANON. 1948-1976. The Wealth of India raw materials. Publications and Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi. 11 volumes.
TARTARIC-ACID 6 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
THIAMIN 31 Bud not available 0.1 -1.00 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
THIAMIN 31 Fruit 0.1 1.3 -0.52 Duke, 1992 *
THREONINE 4 Bud not available 3845.0 not available Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
THREONINE 4 Seed not available 7330.0 -0.18 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
TOCOPHEROL 93 Bud not available 2.5 not available Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
TRYPTOPHAN 29 Seed not available 1665.0 -0.57 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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
Antiasthmatic 3 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Antiatherogenic 2 Duke, 1992 *
Antiatheromic 1 Cerda, J.J. Pectin in Health and Disease. HortScience, 25(12): 1485, 1990.
Antiatherosclerotic 7 Duke, 1992 *
Antibackache 1 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Antibacterial 11 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Antiberiberi 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antibiotic 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
AntiBPH 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antibronchitic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticalculic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticancer 4 Duke, 1992 *
Anticancer (Breast) 2 Madhavi, D. L., Bomser, J., Smith, M., Singletary, K. 1998. Isolation of Bioactive Constituents from Vaccinium myrtillus (Bilberry) Fruits and Cell Cultures. Plant Sci., 131(1): 95-103.
Anticancer (Cervix) 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticancer (Lung) 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticanker 3 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Anticapillary-Fragility 1 Merck 7th Ed.
Anticarcinogenic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticarcinomic 2 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Anticardiospasmic 1 Duke, 1992 *