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
OXALIC-ACID 9 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PALMITIC-ACID 13 Flower not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PALMITIC-ACID 13 Seed 6480.0 21840.0 -0.25 Duke, 1992 *
PALMITIC-ACID 13 Seed Oil not available 120000.0 -0.41 Duke, 1992 *
PALMITOYLDILINOLEIN 0 Seed not available not available not available 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.
PECTIN 24 Fruit not available not available not available ANON. 1948-1976. The Wealth of India raw materials. Publications and Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi. 11 volumes.
PECTIN 24 Stem not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PENDULETIN 4 Flower not available not available not available 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.
PENDULETIN 4 Pt not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PHENYLALANINE 7 Bud not available 4250.0 not available Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
PHENYLALANINE 7 Seed not available 8255.0 -0.39 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
PHORBIC-ACID 0 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PHORBIC-ACID 0 Stem not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PHOSPHORUS 4 Bud not available 243.0 -1.00 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
PHOSPHORUS 4 Fruit 320.0 1985.0 -0.37 Duke, 1992 *
PHOSPHORUS 4 Seed not available 1605.0 -0.99 Laferriere, J.E., 1988, Nutricomp Program, Nutricomp Database; reviewed in J. Ethnobiology 9(1):27-29.
PISCIDIC-ACID 0 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PISCIDIC-ACID 0 Plant not available not available not available J.S. Glasby Dict.Pls Containing 2ndary Metabolite. 1991.
PISCIDIC-ACID-DIETHYL-ESTER 0 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PISCIDIC-ACID-DIETHYLETHER 0 Flower not available not available not available List, P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
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
Antihemorrhoidal 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antihepatitic 2 Martindale's 29th
Antihepatotic 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Antihepatotoxic 5 Economic & Medicinal Plant Research, 6: 189.
Antiherpetic 8 Duke, 1992 *
Antiherpetic? 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antihiccup 1 Martindale's 29th
Antihistaminic 7 Duke, 1992 *
AntiHIV 2 Duke, 1992 *
Antihyperactivity 1 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Antihyperammonemic 1 Martindale's 29th
Antihyperkeratotic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antihyperkinetic 2 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Antihyperlipoproteinaemic 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Antihypertensive 8 Duke, 1992 *
Antihypoglycemic 1 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Antiichythyotic 1 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Antiimplantation 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antiimpotence 2 Martindale's 29th
Antiinfective 1 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.