Lee Swanson Research Update

Prickly Pear Cactus Helps Reduce Oxidative Stress

January 2006

prickly pear

Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) improves human antioxidant status, decreases oxidative stress and decreases oxidative damage to lipids, according to a Sicilian study.

Conducted at the University of Palermo in Sicily and involving 18 volunteers, the study examined the effects of twice-daily dosing, for a two-week period, with either 75 mg of vitamin C alone or 250 g of fresh prickly cactus pulp, whose vitamin C and characteristic betalain pigments have known antioxidant properties. After a six-week washout period, the treatments were reversed in the two groups. Blood samples were analyzed at baseline and after the treatment periods to determine oxidative stress.

The study found that although both test groups had higher than average plasma levels of vitamins C and E and better antioxidant defenses, vitamin C did not significantly reduce oxidative stress, whereas prickly pear cactus did. A further, but unexplained finding was an increased plasma level of vitamin E in both test groups.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 80(2):391-395, 2004

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