Nutritional value of edible cactus

Cactus is a very environmentally friendly green food. Let us learn about the nutritional value of cactus.

Cactus Introduction

This product is the root and stem of the cactus plant of the Cactaceae family. It is a cactus shrub, 1 to 3 meters high. The lower part of the stem is slightly woody and nearly cylindrical, and the upper part is fleshy, flat, green, and has nodes; each node is ovate to rectangular, 15 to 30 cm long, shiny, and scattered with many tubercles, each small tuber is densely covered with yellow-brown curly soft hairs and has favorable thorns. The leaves are fleshy and small, lanceolate, with a pointed tip, purple-red, and a green base. They grow under the thorn bundle of each small tuber and fall off early. The flowers are yellow, 7 to 8 cm in diameter, solitary or clustered at the top edge of the flattened stem; there are many stamens, arranged in several rounds, with 2 anthers; there is 1 pistil, the style is white, cylindrical, usually hollow, and the stigma is 6-lobed. The berries are fleshy, ovate, 5 to 7 cm long, purple-red, and covered with fine hard hairs; there are many seeds. It is wild or cultivated. It is distributed in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places. The green cactus of the same genus is also used as medicine. The edible cactus has a better palatability. If it is cut into thin strips, it is green and transparent, fragrant and refreshing, and has many health benefits.

Nutritional value of cactus

It contains 18 kinds of amino acids and a variety of trace elements needed by the human body, as well as precious ingredients such as angelica sinensis, horn fairy, and jade hibiscus. It not only has many functions for the human body such as clearing away heat and detoxifying, strengthening the stomach and spleen, clearing the throat and moistening the lungs, and nourishing the skin, but also has obvious therapeutic effects on liver cancer, diabetes, bronchitis and other diseases.

Effects of eating cactus

This herb is bitter and cool in nature. It enters the heart, lung and stomach meridians. It has the effects of promoting qi and blood circulation, clearing away heat and detoxifying. It is mainly used to treat heart and stomach qi pain, lumps, dysentery, hemorrhoids, cough, sore throat, lung abscess, breast abscess, furuncle, burns caused by hot water or fire, and snake bites.