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Opuntia stricta

Table of Contents

Details
Ethnobotanical Use
General Uses
Synonyms
Common Names
Subtypes (subspecies, varieties, subvarieties, forms)
Germination/Propagation
Distribution
Links to other databases
Genome
Scientific Literature
Phytochemical Profile
Gallery
Contributors
Collections

Details Top

Internal ID UUID643ff6d800d76194439896
Scientific name Opuntia stricta
Authority (Haw.) Haw.
First published in Syn. Pl. Succ.: 191. 1812.

Ethnobotanical Use Top

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General Uses Top

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Common products:
• Fruit products such as syrups, jams, jellies, jellies, and confections.
• Seed oil (prickly pear seed oil) used as an edible oil.

Industrial and craft applications:
• Cladode mucilage used as a hydrocolloid thickening, stabilizing, and emulsifying agent in foods.

Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
• Fruits eaten fresh or processed into syrups, jams, jellies, and candies.
• Seed oil (prickly pear seed oil) an edible oil with a linoleic-rich composition; it is used in culinary applications including frying and as a salad oil and in bakery products.
• Mucilage from cladodes is incorporated as a thickening and stabilizing ingredient in sauces and dressings.

Colorants and tanning:
• The plant serves as a host for cochineal insects (Dactylopius coccus), whose bodies yield carmine (carmine lake) used as a red colorant in foods and beverages.

Wood and fiber:
• No documented wood or fiber products for this taxon.

Fragrance and cosmetics:
• Essential oil components have been identified from fruit peel; the oil is not an established commercial fragrance.

Properties relevant to use:
• Cladode mucilage comprises galactose, rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, and galacturonic acid, conferring high apparent viscosity and good emulsifying capacity (emulsion stability index up to 0.72), enabling thickening and stabilization at 0.1–0.5% in aqueous systems.
• Seed oil typically contains high proportions of linoleic acid (18:2), with significant palmitic and oleic acids, characteristic of a high-unsaturation edible oil suitable for culinary use.

Standards and regulation:
• Seed oil complies with food lipid regulations (e.g., Codex Alimentarius and national food standards) if sold as an edible oil.
• Carmine colorants are permitted as food additives under specifications for E120 in the EU and under the U.S. FDA’s color additive regulations for foods and cosmetics.

Sustainability and sourcing:
• Fruits and seeds are often by-products of cochineal production; seed oil recovery valorizes the seed stream. Cladode mucilage can be sourced seasonally from pruning or thinning. Wild-harvesting or invasive populations should be managed to avoid ecological impacts.

References:
• Dennis T.E., et al. 2008. Field guide to edible cacti in Australia. Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia.
• Verde A., et al. 2013. Food uses of wild and semi-domesticated Mediterranean plants. Trends in Food Science & Technology.
• Gharby S., et al. 2015. Characterization of prickly pear seed oil. Journal of Materials and Environmental Science.
• Abdel-Hady M., et al. 2015. Hydrocolloid properties of prickly pear cladodes mucilage. Food Hydrocolloids.
• Flores-Hernández A., et al. 2017. Non-Newtonian rheology of cactus mucilage. Food Hydrocolloids.
• Elgersma A., et al. 2019. Opuntia stricta seed oil composition. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis.
• EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources. 2015. Scientific opinion on cochineal carmine (E120).
• U.S. FDA. 21 CFR Part 73, listings for cochineal extract and carmine (color additives).
• Codex Alimentarius. General Standard for Food Additives (CXS 192-1995).

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Opuntia maritima Raf. Med. Fl. 2: 247. 1830.
Opuntia longiclada Griffiths in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 43: 525. 1916.
Opuntia parva A.Berger Hort. Mortol.: 234. 1912.
Opuntia brunnescens Britton & Rose Cactaceae 1: 150. 1919.
Opuntia balearica F.A.C.Weber ex Hirscht in Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 8: 175. 1898.
Opuntia airampo Phil. in Anales Univ. Chile 85: 492. 1894.
Opuntia bartramii Raf. in Atlantic J. 1: 146. 1832.
Opuntia stricta var. dillenii (Ker Gawl.) L.D.Benson in Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) 41: 126. 1969.
Pilocereus flavispinus Rümpler Handb. Cacteenk.: 659. 1885.
Cactus chilensis Colla in Hortus Ripul. App. 2: 342. 1826.
Cactus chinensis Roxb. Fl. Ind. 2: 476. 1824.
Cactus dillenii Ker Gawl. in Bot. Reg. 3: t. 255. 1818.
Cactus indicus Roxb. Fl. Ind. 2: 475. 1824.
Cactus strictus Haw. Misc. Nat.: 188. 1803.
Cactus opuntia var. inermis DC. Pl. Hist. Succ. 2: t. 138, f. C. 1799.
Opuntia chinensis (Roxb.) K.Koch Hort. Dendrol. 279: no. 6. 1853.
Opuntia magnifica Small Man. S.E. Fl.: 906. 1933.
Opuntia tunoidea Gibbes in Proc. Elliott Soc. Nat. Hist. Charleston 1: 272. 1859.
Opuntia zebrina Small in J. New York Bot. Gard. 20(230): 35–36, pl. 226. 1919.
Opuntia keyensis Britton ex Small in J. New York Bot. Gard. 20(230): 31–32, pl. 225. 1919.
Opuntia tenuiflora Small Man. S.E. Fl.: 908, 1506. 1933.
Opuntia bentonii Griffiths in Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 22: 25–26, pl. 1–2. 1912.
Opuntia melanosperma Svenson in Amer. J. Bot. 33: 471. 1946.
Opuntia inermis (DC.) DC. Prodr. 3: 437. 1828.
Opuntia anahuacensis Griffiths in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 43(2): 92. 1916.
Opuntia nejapensis Bravo in Cact. Suc. Mex. 17(4): 115. 1972.
Opuntia dillenii var. minor Salm-Dyck Hort. Dyck.: 185. 1834.
Opuntia dillenii var. orbiculata Salm-Dyck Cact. Hort. Dyck.: 67. 1850.
Opuntia dillenii var. reitzii Scheinvar in Feddes Repert. 95: 277. 1984.
Opuntia stricta subsp. esparzae Scheinvar in Cact. Suc. Mex. 47: 98. 2002.
Opuntia stricta var. reitzii (Scheinvar) Scheinvar & A.Rodr. in Revista Jard. Bot. Nac. Univ. Habana 21: 299. 2001.
Opuntia vulgaris var. balaerica F.A.C.Weber Dict. Hort. 2: 894. 1898.

Common names Top

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Language Common/alternative name
English erect pricklypear
English erect prickly pear
English erect prickly-pear
Spanish nopal estricto
Afrikaans suurturksvy
Arabic صبير لامع
Persian انجیر تیغی ایستاده
Japanese センニンサボテン
Burmese ကုလားဇော
Portuguese palma-de-espinho
Tamil நாகதாளி
Chinese 仙人掌
Chinese 无刺团扇
Chinese 缩刺仙人掌
Chinese 縮刺仙人掌

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

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Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

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Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

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Forms (abbr. f.) Top

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Germination/Propagation Top

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No germination or propagation data was added yet.

Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Africa
    • Macaronesia
      • Azores
      • Canary Islands
      • Madeira
    • Northeast Tropical Africa
      • Ethiopia
    • Northern Africa
      • Algeria
      • Libya
      • Morocco
      • Tunisia
    • South Tropical Africa
      • Angola
    • Southern Africa
      • Cape Provinces
      • Free State
      • Kwazulu-Natal
      • Namibia
      • Northern Provinces
      • Swaziland
    • West Tropical Africa
      • Benin
      • Senegal
  • Asia-temperate
    • Caucasus
      • North Caucasus
      • Transcaucasus
    • China
      • China South-central
      • China Southeast
      • Hainan
  • Asia-tropical
    • Indian Subcontinent
      • India
    • Indo-China
      • Andaman Islands
      • Nicobar Nicobar
  • Australasia
    • Australia
      • New South Wales
      • Northern Territory
      • Queensland
      • South Australia
      • Victoria
      • Western Australia
  • Europe
    • Southeastern Europe
      • Albania
      • Greece
      • Italy
      • Sicilia
    • Southwestern Europe
      • Baleares
      • France
      • Spain
  • Northern America
    • Mexico
      • Mexico Gulf
      • Mexico Northeast
      • Mexico Southeast
      • Mexico Southwest
    • South-central U.S.A.
      • Texas
    • Southeastern U.S.A.
      • Alabama
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • South Carolina
  • Southern America
    • Brazil
      • Brazil Northeast
      • Brazil Southeast
    • Caribbean
      • Bahamas
      • Bermuda
      • Cayman Islands
      • Cuba
      • Dominican Republic
      • Haiti
      • Jamaica
      • Leeward Islands
      • Puerto Rico
      • Turks-caicos Islands
      • Venezuelan Antilles
      • Windward Islands
    • Western South America
      • Colombia
      • Peru

Links to other databases Top

Suggest others/fix!
Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0000385755
Florida Plant Atlas 3595
Flora of Alabama 5485
USDA Plants OPST2
Tropicos 5100435
INPN 110781
Flora of Italy 355
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:137078-1
The Plant List kew-2391898
Open Tree Of Life 29271
Observations.org 146048
NCBI Taxonomy 701516
Nature Serve 2.130743
IUCN Red List 152773
IPNI 137078-1
iNaturalist 47898
GBIF 5384075
Freebase /m/02qyq8w
EPPO OPUST
EOL 589709
Elurikkus 532477
USDA GRIN 25872
Wikipedia Opuntia_stricta

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

Scientific Literature Top

Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
A Healthy Brazil Nut Beverage with Opuntia stricta var. dillenii Green Extract: Beverage Stability and Changes in Bioactives and Antioxidant Activity during Cold Storage Alvarado-López DA, Parralejo-Sanz S, Lobo MG, Cano MP Foods 18-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11049168
doi:10.3390/foods13081237
PMID:38672912
Advances in Flavonoid Research: Sources, Biological Activities, and Developmental Prospectives Hao B, Yang Z, Liu H, Liu Y, Wang S Curr Issues Mol Biol 26-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC11049524
doi:10.3390/cimb46040181
PMID:38666911
Encapsulation of Indicaxanthin-Rich Opuntia Green Extracts by Double Emulsions for Improved Stability and Bioaccessibility Parralejo-Sanz S, Quereda-Moraleda I, Requena T, Cano MP Foods 25-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC11012069
doi:10.3390/foods13071003
PMID:38611309
Local knowledge of homegarden plants in Miao ethnic communities in Laershan region, Xiangxi area, China Luo J, Li Q, He J, Yan J, Zhang S, Chang X, Wu T J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 18-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10946099
doi:10.1186/s13002-024-00676-x
PMID:38500123
Green Solvents for Extraction of Natural Food Colorants from Plants: Selectivity and Stability Issues Tzanova MT, Yaneva Z, Ivanova D, Toneva M, Grozeva N, Memdueva N Foods 16-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10887973
doi:10.3390/foods13040605
PMID:38397582
Anti-Obesity Effect of Different Opuntia stricta var. dillenii’s Prickly Pear Tissues and Industrial By-Product Extracts in 3T3-L1 Mature Adipocytes Gómez-López I, Eseberri I, Cano MP, Portillo MP Nutrients 09-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10892177
doi:10.3390/nu16040499
PMID:38398824
Chemical Properties, Ruminal Fermentation, Gas Production and Digestibility of Silages Composed of Spineless Cactus and Tropical Forage Plants for Sheep Feeding Godoi PF, Magalhães AL, de Araújo GG, de Melo AA, Silva TS, Gois GC, dos Santos KC, do Nascimento DB, da Silva PB, de Oliveira JS, Santos EM, da Silva TG, Zanine AD, Ferreira DD, Voltolini TV, Campos FS Animals (Basel) 07-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10886150
doi:10.3390/ani14040552
PMID:38396518
Adesmia pinifolia, a Native High-Andean Species, as a Potential Candidate for Phytoremediation of Cd and Hg Parera V, Pérez-Chaca MV, Gallardo LV, Gatica-Aguilar CV, Parera CA, Feresin GE Plants (Basel) 06-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10891624
doi:10.3390/plants13040464
PMID:38498429
An Updated Comprehensive Overview of Different Food Applications of W1/O/W2 and O1/W/O2 Double Emulsions Ghiasi F, Hashemi H, Esteghlal S, Hosseini SM Foods 02-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10855190
doi:10.3390/foods13030485
PMID:38338620
Comprehensive phenomic and genomic studies of the species, Pectobacterium cacticida and proposal for reclassification as Alcorniella cacticida comb. nov Jonca J, Pirhonen M, Waleron MM, Gawor J, Mrozik A, Smoktunowicz M, Waleron K, Waleron M Front Plant Sci 25-Jan-2024
PMCID:PMC10850344
doi:10.3389/fpls.2024.1323790
PMID:38332771
Phenotypic characterisation and production system of the Nordestino horse from a multivariate perspective Ribeiro NL, de Medeiros GR, da Silva NM, Soares KO, Arandas JK, do Nascimento GV, Ribeiro MN Sci Rep 12-Jan-2024
PMCID:PMC10786842
doi:10.1038/s41598-023-51018-y
PMID:38216575
Production of high protein yeast using enzymatically liquefied almond hulls Sitepu IR, Hitomi A, Wu W, Wu A, Jeoh T, Boundy-Mills K PLoS One 15-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10651018
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0293085
PMID:37967097
Natural Sources of Food Colorants as Potential Substitutes for Artificial Additives Vega EN, Ciudad-Mulero M, Fernández-Ruiz V, Barros L, Morales P Foods 12-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10670170
doi:10.3390/foods12224102
PMID:38002160
Bioactive Compounds from BRS Violet Grape Pomace: An Approach of Extraction and Microencapsulation, Stability Protection and Food Application Romanini EB, Rodrigues LM, Stafussa AP, Cantuaria Chierrito TP, Teixeira AF, Corrêa RC, Madrona GS Plants (Basel) 05-Sep-2023
PMCID:PMC10537171
doi:10.3390/plants12183177
PMID:37765341
Symbiont Identity Impacts the Microbiome and Volatilome of a Model Cnidarian-Dinoflagellate Symbiosis Wuerz M, Lawson CA, Oakley CA, Possell M, Wilkinson SP, Grossman AR, Weis VM, Suggett DJ, Davy SK Biology (Basel) 17-Jul-2023
PMCID:PMC10376011
doi:10.3390/biology12071014
PMID:37508443

Phytochemical Profile Top

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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
Name PubChem ID Canonical SMILES MW Found in Proof
> Benzenoids / Benzene and substituted derivatives / Benzoic acids and derivatives / Hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives
4-Hydroxybenzoic acid 135 Click to see C1=CC(=CC=C1C(=O)O)O 138.12 unknown https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
https://doi.org/10.1002/CHIN.200317193
Protocatechuic Acid 72 Click to see 154.12 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/CHIN.200317193
https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
> Benzenoids / Benzene and substituted derivatives / Benzoic acids and derivatives / Methoxybenzoic acids and derivatives / M-methoxybenzoic acids and derivatives
Vanillic Acid 8468 Click to see COC1=C(C=CC(=C1)C(=O)O)O 168.15 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/CHIN.200317193
https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
> Organic acids and derivatives / Hydroxy acids and derivatives / Beta hydroxy acids and derivatives
L-Malic Acid 222656 Click to see 134.09 unknown https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
> Organic oxygen compounds / Organooxygen compounds / Carbohydrates and carbohydrate conjugates / Glycosyl compounds / O-glycosyl compounds
4-Methoxy-6-[[3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxymethyl]pyran-2-one 85413420 Click to see 318.28 unknown https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
> Organic oxygen compounds / Organooxygen compounds / Carbohydrates and carbohydrate conjugates / Oligosaccharides
3-O-Methylpentopyranosyl-(1->6)-3-O-methylhexopyranosyl-(1->4)-2,6-anhydro-1-deoxyheptitol 24847856 Click to see 500.50 unknown https://doi.org/10.1055/S-0028-1097919
> Organoheterocyclic compounds / Pyrans / Pyranones and derivatives
6-Hydroxymethyl-4-methoxy-2H-pyran-2-one 10034839 Click to see COC1=CC(=O)OC(=C1)CO 156.14 unknown https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
> Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Cinnamic acids and derivatives / Hydroxycinnamic acids and derivatives / Hydroxycinnamic acids
Ferulic Acid 445858 Click to see 194.18 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/CHIN.200317193
https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
> Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / Flavonoid glycosides / Flavonoid O-glycosides / Flavonoid-3-O-glycosides
2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3-[(2S,5S)-4,5-dihydroxy-3-[(2S,3S,5R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl]oxy-6-[[(2R,4S,5R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl]oxymethyl]oxan-2-yl]oxy-5,7-dihydroxychromen-4-one 44259164 Click to see 756.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
Kaempferol 3-O-beta-D-xyloside 21310440 Click to see 418.30 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/PTR.1708
Rutin 5280805 Click to see 610.50 unknown https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507
https://doi.org/10.1002/CHIN.200317193
> Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / Flavonoid glycosides / Flavonoid O-glycosides / Flavonoid-7-O-glycosides
kaempferol 7-O-glucoside 10095180 Click to see C1=CC(=CC=C1C2=C(C(=O)C3=C(C=C(C=C3O2)OC4C(C(C(C(O4)CO)O)O)O)O)O)O 448.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1248/CPB.50.1507

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