Prickly Pear Cactus (Nopal opuntia) 20:1 Powder 1/2 lb bottle: HE

This herb is BULK DISCOUNTED in our 10 lb & 25 lb bulk packs. To find the bulk packs, just copy and paste the herb name into our Search, or refer to our Bulk By The Kilo & Ton category. We use only 100% Gluten-free, Vegetable Cellulose '00' capsules for all of our encapsulated products. We offer both bulk powder and capsules. Obviously our bulk bottles are bulk powder, not capsules, but the capsule weight is included to give you a way of judging the recommended dosage. Nopal - Botanical Extract 20:1 -- Approximately 600 mg. each capsule. 1/2 teaspoon of powder is about equal to one capsule. Powder can be consumed by sprinkling it over your food or mixing it with a syrup such as maple or chocolate. You could also mix it with orange juice. The citric acid in the orange juice will help to mask any unpleasant powder tastes. Other common names: Opuntia, Prickly Pear, Smooth Prickly Pear, Tuna Blanca, Nochtli, Indian Fig, Penca Nopal is often used to relieve the symptoms of overindulgence in alcohol, including dry mouth and nausea. It is also thought to lower fats and cholesterol in the blood, and is becoming increasingly popular as a means to decrease blood sugar levels and control diabetes. History: Nopal is a large cactus with a woody trunk and large top, many oblong joints, small, yellow barbed spines, bright yellow flowers and red fruit with a juicy, white, sweet flesh and numerous black seeds. It is said to be a native of Mexico, where it is considered the symbol of identity of the Mexican people and is even included on the Mexican flag, depicting a Mexican golden eagle perched upon the Opuntia cactus, devouring a snake. About twenty thousand years ago, Opuntia (or Nopal) began to develop as a food, and the plant's development was said to enable human settlement and cultural development in many parts of the arid lands, where it was considered the lifeblood of those ancient cultures, particularly in times of drought. About 5000 to 7000 B. C., prehistoric indigenous groups began the cultivation of a series of native plants, including beans, opuntia, peppers and agave, etc., and in Pre-Columbian times, Nopal was considered an important staple food (for both humans and livestock), a beverage, a medicine, a source of dye and was included in religious and magical rites. During the Spanish Colonial Period, Nopal gained further importance as forage when cattle was introduced to the semiarid areas and there was a consequent depletion of grasslands. Its beneficial uses as a medicine and beverage were also gaining in reputation. In the De la Cruz-Badiano Codex of 1552, it was noted that Nopal treated several ailments and was used to cure burns and soothe wounds, and Friar Motolinia said, 'these Indians, from a land so sterile that they lack water, drink the juice of these leaves of nopal.' Nopal received its botanical genus name, Opuntia, from Tournefot, who thought the plant was similar to a thorny plant that gre