Herb library · Herb · Opuntia ficus-indica
Nopal (prickly pear cactus)
The flat green pads of the prickly pear cactus, eaten as a vegetable in Mexico and sold dried as a powder. Eating nopal with a starchy meal blunted the rise in blood sugar in a small study, and a fiber made from it eased irritable bowel symptoms in a one-week trial; a review found no effect on body weight.
Traditional use
Nopales are a staple vegetable of Mexican cooking, sliced and grilled or stewed, and the fruit is eaten fresh. In traditional Mexican medicine, a 2014 study notes, nopal is used for diabetes, and dried nopal powders and capsules are sold for blood sugar and weight.
What studies show
- Limited
Blood sugar after meals: in a small Mexican study, 14 people with type 2 diabetes who ate 300 g of steamed nopal with a high-carbohydrate breakfast had a lower rise in blood sugar and insulin than with the breakfast alone. Nopal itself had a low glycemic index in 7 healthy volunteers.
- Limited
Irritable bowel syndrome: in a one-week double-blind trial of 60 people, 20 or 30 g a day of nopal fiber powder gave more people adequate relief than a placebo (87% and 80% against 33%). The 30 g dose caused looser stools. The authors call for a longer, larger trial.
- Limited· shows no benefit
Body weight: a 2015 review of randomized trials of cactus pear found no significant effect on body weight, with small reductions in body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol from studies of mixed quality.
Be careful of
Cautions
- InteractionNopal eaten with a meal lowered the rise in blood sugar in people with diabetes. If you take medicine for blood sugar, watch for low readings and tell your clinician before adding nopal.
- AmountSide effects reported in the trials include stomach upset and, at higher doses of the fiber, loose stools.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
Sources
- The effect of nopal (Opuntia ficus indica) on postprandial blood glucose, incretins, and antioxidant activity in Mexican patients with type 2 diabetes after consumption of two different composition breakfasts (J Acad Nutr Diet, 2014) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Nopal fiber (Opuntia ficus-indica) improves symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome in the short term: a randomized controlled trial (Neurogastroenterol Motil, 2021) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- The effect of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) on body weight and cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (Nutrition, 2015) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.