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The Prickly Pear Cactus

The prickly pear cactus is a perennial, succulent and branched shrubby plant, of various sizes, from ground layer to tree layer that can reach up to four meters height.

It is a drought-resistant crop, highly efficient in water use that can easily adapt to arid and semi-arid areas, where the soil and climate constraints for agriculture are most in evidence.

The prickly pear cactus (Opuntia Ficus Indica) is a plant that has the potential to be almost totally used. Cladodes (stems) are used for livestock feed and in the production of juices, jams, pickles, canned food, and also of natural colours and thickeners. Young cladodes may be used for human consumption, both fresh and cooked, just like vegetables. As for the prickly pears, they are most commonly used as fresh fruits, but they can also be consumed in the form of juice, nectar or pulp, or used in the production of jams, jellies, syrups, sweeteners, dehydrated products, wines, liquors or even vinegar, and also for producing natural food colorants. The cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries use the oil extracted from the seeds, with the extraction process allowing to obtain a by-product used in animal feed. Lastly, after being dried, the flower is used in the production of infusions intended for several therapeutic purposes.

Portugal has soil and climate conditions which lend themselves to the crop of the prickly pear cactus.

Around one third of the Portuguese territory is highly desertification-prone. Climate change may enhance the effects of droughts, accelerate the degradation of soils and, therefore, the desertification of the territory, thereby seriously hampering the development of extensive rural areas. The crop of the prickly pear cactus can make a significant contribution to the regeneration of those areas and the development of the local economies, while fighting the depopulation they are currently undergoing. It enables the owners of fallow or underused lands to obtain a significant and sustainable income, and promotes a range of economic activities upstream or downstream.

Prickly pear cactus Fruit Prickly Pear

This fruit has a sweet, juicy and aromatic pulp, since it combines several flavours from other exotic and tropical fruits. It contains small edible seeds that are very rich in antioxidants, with regenerative and cholesterol-fighting properties.

Some studies refer to cholesterol lowering of about 28%. The prickly pear is often referred to as a “Super Fruit”, due to its nutritional value and antioxidants named “Betalains” – powerful antioxidants that help your body to reduce inflammation and to neutralise the toxins, by supporting our natural detoxification process. The prickly pear is one of the very few plants in the world containing betalains and the only one with up to 24 known ones.

Organic functions : The fruits are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and antiuric, anti-ulcerogenic, anticancerogenic, hepatocholesteremic cardiovascular protector, hypoprothrombinaemic;

Nutritional Value : The prickly pear is rich in fibre, soluble carbohydrates, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, and also vitamins, mainly A, C and B3. It is also a source of bioactive compounds, such as betalains and polyphenols.