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Natural Home Cures Since 2004

Freeze-dried botanicals grown on our own farms.

Natural Home Cures products from left to right: Nopal capsules, prickly pear drops, and Nopal powder, with opened capsules and a powder scoop

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NATURAL HOME CURES · NOPAL SCIENCE

Aspartic Acid
& Nopal

A building block for proteins, with roles in energy and waste removal.

Explore the science
Illustrative mitochondrion showing its folded inner membrane
HELPING YOUR BODY WORK EVERY DAYHelping your cells
do their everyday work.

Aspartic acid is one of the small building blocks your body uses to make proteins. These proteins help build and maintain muscles, skin and other tissues.(1)

Your body can make aspartic acid, and you also get it from food. You may see it called “nonessential.” This simply means your body can normally make it for itself.(2)

Aspartic acid still has important jobs to do. It helps your body make proteins, handle waste and keep its cells working. In explanations about the body, you may also see the name aspartate.

What Does Aspartic Acid Do?

Aspartic acid helps with several everyday tasks that keep your body working.

Building and maintaining tissues

Illustrative close view of tissue fibers

Your body joins aspartic acid with other amino acids to make proteins. These proteins help build and maintain muscles, skin and other tissues.(1)

Helping remove waste

When your body breaks down protein, it produces waste. Aspartic acid takes part in a process in the liver that turns waste into urea. The kidneys then remove urea in urine.(3)

Helping cells make energy

Your cells turn nutrients from food into energy they can use. Aspartic acid takes part in a transfer system that helps mitochondria, the tiny energy-making structures inside cells, do their work.(4)

Aspartic Acid in Everyday Foods

Tofu, soybeans, eggs, grains and Nopal pads on limestone
Aspartic acid occurs naturally in familiar foods, in different amounts.
  • Roasted chicken
    Meat and poultry
  • A serving of fish
    Fish
  • Eggs
    Eggs
  • Dairy foods
    Milk and dairy products
  • Lentils and chickpeas
    Beans and lentils
  • Tofu and soybeans
    Soy foods
  • Nuts and seeds
    Nuts and seeds
  • Whole grains
    Whole grains
  • Leafy green vegetables
    Leafy vegetables
  • Cleaned cactus pads and sliced nopales
    Nopal cactus pads

Amounts vary by food and serving size. The body can also make aspartic acid as part of normal metabolism.(2)

How Much Aspartic Acid Is in Nopal?

Illustrative harvest scene with green Nopal cactus pads in a woven basket
Nopal pads are the cactus’s broad, flat stems.

USDA’s food database provides a useful reference for aspartic acid naturally present in raw nopales, the edible cactus pads.(7)

NATURALLY OCCURRING ASPARTIC ACID · RAW NOPALESAbout 86 mgper 100 g of raw edible cactus pads

USDA FoodData Central · “Nopales, raw”

The USDA entry lists 0.086 grams of aspartic acid per 100 grams of raw nopales, equal to 86 milligrams. This gives an idea of the amount in fresh cactus pads.(7)

Aspartic acid has also been reported in studies of Opuntia ficus-indica cactus.(5)

The USDA value is a general food reference.

From Our Farms to Your Bottle

Illustrative Nopal cactus in a mountainous landscape

Our Nopal capsule story begins on our mountain farms in Mexico, where Opuntia streptacantha grows at about 8,200 feet in rich volcanic soil. Sunlight, temperature, and rainfall shape the living cactus.

We stay involved from growing through harvest and preparation of the capsules. This growing environment is part of the story behind each amino acid discussed here.

More Than One Amino Acid

Our capsules and powder bring together the naturally occurring compounds in cactus pads. They are whole botanical products, rather than isolated aspartic acid supplements.

Explore the other Nopal articles to learn about its fiber, vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds. Each adds another piece to the story of this familiar cactus.

Natural Home Cures products from left to right: Nopal cactus capsules, prickly pear drops, and Nopal cactus powder

FROM CACTUS TO PRODUCT

Meet Our Nopal Cactus & Prickly Pear Family

Nopal cactus capsules, prickly pear drops, and Nopal cactus powder.

Explore Nopal Cactus →
The research behind this article

Source References

7 sources Show referencesHide references
  1. 01
    Nutrition referencePhysiology, Proteins.

    LaPelusa A, Kaushik R. StatPearls. National Center for Biotechnology Information.

    Full citation
    LaPelusa A, Kaushik R. “Physiology, Proteins.” StatPearls. National Center for Biotechnology Information.
    View source
  2. 02
    Research referenceAmino Acids: Metabolism, Functions, and Nutrition.

    Wu G. Amino Acids. 2009;37:1–17.

    Full citation
    Wu G. “Amino Acids: Metabolism, Functions, and Nutrition.” Amino Acids. 2009;37:1–17.
    View source
  3. 03
    Research referenceRegulation of Enzymes of the Urea Cycle and Arginine Metabolism.

    Morris SM Jr. Annual Review of Nutrition. 2002;22:87–105.

    Full citation
    Morris SM Jr. “Regulation of Enzymes of the Urea Cycle and Arginine Metabolism.” Annual Review of Nutrition. 2002;22:87–105.
    View source
  4. 04
    Research referenceThe Malate–Aspartate Shuttle (Borst Cycle): How It Started and Developed into a Major Metabolic Pathway.

    Borst P. IUBMB Life. 2020;72(11):2241–2259.

    Full citation
    Borst P. “The Malate–Aspartate Shuttle (Borst Cycle): How It Started and Developed into a Major Metabolic Pathway.” IUBMB Life. 2020;72(11):2241–2259.
    View source
  5. 05
    Research referenceNopal Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) as a Source of Bioactive Compounds for Nutrition, Health and Disease.

    El-Mostafa K, El Kharrassi Y, Badreddine A, et al. Molecules. 2014;19(9):14879–14901.

    Full citation
    El-Mostafa K, El Kharrassi Y, Badreddine A, et al. “Nopal Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) as a Source of Bioactive Compounds for Nutrition, Health and Disease.” Molecules. 2014;19(9):14879–14901.
    View source
  6. 06
    Research reviewCactus Stems (Opuntia spp.): A Review on Their Chemistry, Technology, and Uses.

    Stintzing FC, Carle R. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 2005;49(2):175–194.

    Full citation
    Stintzing FC, Carle R. “Cactus Stems (Opuntia spp.): A Review on Their Chemistry, Technology, and Uses.” Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 2005;49(2):175–194.
    View source
  7. 07
    USDA food composition referenceNopales, raw.

    U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central. FDC ID 168571; SR Legacy, NDB 11963.

    Full citation
    U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central. “Nopales, raw.” FDC ID 168571. Aspartic acid: 0.086 g per 100 g of raw edible food, equivalent to 86 mg.
    View source