955 E Main Street, STE E83, Lexington, SC 29073 U.S. toll-free: 1-888-800-5582 International: +1 845-875-6155

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

Shop Now

NATURAL HOME CURES · NOPAL SCIENCE

Glutamic Acid
& Nopal

A building block for proteins, nerve messages and your body’s natural cell defenses.

Explore the science
Conceptual illustration of a nerve cell and its connections
HELPING NERVE CELLS COMMUNICATEPassing messages
from cell to cell.

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

Inside the body, it is mostly found in a closely related form called glutamate. You will see both names as we explain how it helps build proteins, pass nerve messages and make other compounds the body needs.(3)

What Does Glutamic Acid Do?

Glutamic acid and its glutamate form take part in several everyday jobs that keep the body working.

Building and maintaining tissues

Illustrative close view of tissue fibers

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

Helping nerve cells communicate

Conceptual illustration of a nerve cell and its connections

Nerve cells use glutamate as a chemical messenger. It helps carry messages from one nerve cell to the next, allowing these cells to communicate.(5)

Helping protect cells

Your body uses glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine to make glutathione. Glutathione is a natural antioxidant, a substance that helps protect cells from damage.(12)

Helping reuse building blocks

Your body continually breaks down and rebuilds proteins. Glutamate helps it reuse materials and make other amino acids, including glutamine. This is one way the body keeps useful building blocks available.(2),(4)

Glutamic Acid in Everyday Foods

Tomatoes, mushrooms, aged cheese, beans and walnuts beside Nopal pads
Glutamic acid and glutamate occur naturally in familiar foods, in different amounts.
  • Roasted chicken
    Meat and poultry
  • A serving of fish
    Fish
  • Eggs
    Eggs
  • Milk and dairy foods
    Milk and cheese
  • Lentils and chickpeas
    Beans, lentils and soy foods
  • Nuts and seeds
    Nuts and seeds
  • Whole grains
    Whole grains
  • Leafy green vegetables
    Leafy vegetables
  • Cleaned Nopal cactus pads and sliced nopales
    Nopal cactus pads

The amount you get depends on the food and how much you eat. A varied diet supplies glutamic acid alongside other building blocks the body needs.(2)

Glutamate also helps give tomatoes, mushrooms and aged cheese their savory taste, called umami. MSG, short for monosodium glutamate, is a form used as a food seasoning.(6),(7)

How Much Glutamic 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 glutamic acid naturally present in raw nopales, the edible cactus pads.(11)

NATURALLY OCCURRING GLUTAMIC ACID · RAW NOPALESAbout 145 mgper 100 g of raw edible cactus pads

USDA FoodData Central · “Nopales, raw”

The USDA entry lists 0.145 grams of glutamic acid per 100 grams of raw nopales, equal to 145 milligrams. This gives an idea of the amount in fresh cactus pads.(11)

Glutamic acid has also been measured in studies of Opuntia ficus-indica cactus pads.(10)

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 glutamic 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

12 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 referenceGlutamate, at the Interface Between Amino Acid and Carbohydrate Metabolism.

    Brosnan JT. Journal of Nutrition. 2000;130(4S Suppl):988S–990S.

    Full citation
    Brosnan JT. “Glutamate, at the Interface Between Amino Acid and Carbohydrate Metabolism.” Journal of Nutrition. 2000;130(4S Suppl):988S–990S.
    View source
  3. 03
    Research referenceGlutamine and Glutamate—Their Central Role in Cell Metabolism and Function.

    Newsholme P, Procopio J, Lima MMR, Pithon-Curi TC, Curi R. Cell Biochemistry and Function. 2003;21(1):1–9.

    Full citation
    Newsholme P, Procopio J, Lima MMR, Pithon-Curi TC, Curi R. “Glutamine and Glutamate—Their Central Role in Cell Metabolism and Function.” Cell Biochemistry and Function. 2003;21(1):1–9.
    View source
  4. 04
    Research referenceGlutamine: Metabolism and Immune Function, Supplementation and Clinical Translation.

    Cruzat V, Macedo Rogero M, Noel Keane K, Curi R, Newsholme P. Nutrients. 2018;10(11):1564.

    Full citation
    Cruzat V, Macedo Rogero M, Noel Keane K, Curi R, Newsholme P. “Glutamine: Metabolism and Immune Function, Supplementation and Clinical Translation.” Nutrients. 2018;10(11):1564.
    View source
  5. 05
    Research referenceGlutamate as a Neurotransmitter in the Brain: Review of Physiology and Pathology.

    Meldrum BS. Journal of Nutrition. 2000;130(4S Suppl):1007S–1015S.

    Full citation
    Meldrum BS. “Glutamate as a Neurotransmitter in the Brain: Review of Physiology and Pathology.” Journal of Nutrition. 2000;130(4S Suppl):1007S–1015S.
    View source
  6. 06
    Research referenceQuestions and Answers on Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Full citation
    U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Questions and Answers on Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).”
    View source
  7. 07
    Research referenceUmami the Fifth Basic Taste: History of Studies on Receptor Mechanisms and Role as a Food Flavor.

    Kurihara K. BioMed Research International. 2015;2015:189402.

    Full citation
    Kurihara K. “Umami the Fifth Basic Taste: History of Studies on Receptor Mechanisms and Role as a Food Flavor.” BioMed Research International. 2015;2015:189402.
    View source
  8. 08
    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
  9. 09
    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
  10. 10
    Original research · cactus padsLactic Acid Fermentation of Cactus Cladodes (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) Generates Flavonoid Derivatives with Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties.

    Filannino P, Cavoski I, Thligene N, et al. PLOS ONE. 2016;11(3):e0152575.

    Includes free-amino-acid measurements in raw and processed cactus-pad pulp. This article cites the composition data, rather than inferring a clinical benefit for NHC products.

    Full citation
    Filannino P, Cavoski I, Thligene N, Vincentini O, De Angelis M, Silano M, Gobbetti M, Di Cagno R. PLOS ONE. 2016;11(3):e0152575. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152575. Author-name correction: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155156.
    View source
  11. 11
    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. Glutamic acid: 0.145 g per 100 g of raw edible food, equivalent to 145 mg.
    View source
  12. 12
    Research referenceGlutathione Synthesis.

    Lu SC. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 2013;1830(5):3143–3153.

    Full citation
    Lu SC. “Glutathione Synthesis.” Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 2013;1830(5):3143–3153.
    View source