NATURAL HOME CURES · NOPAL SCIENCE
Isoleucine
& Nopal
An essential building block for proteins, tissue renewal and muscle fuel.
Explore the science
for the muscles you use every day.
Isoleucine helps your body make proteins, including those that build and maintain muscle.
Isoleucine is one of the small building blocks your body uses to make proteins. These proteins help build and maintain muscle, skin and other tissues.(1)
Your body cannot make isoleucine for itself, so you need to get it from food. That is why it is called an essential amino acid.(8)
Isoleucine helps your body make proteins and can also be used for energy. Those jobs matter for everyday movement and tissue renewal throughout life.
What Does Isoleucine Do?
Isoleucine is both a building material and a possible source of fuel for your body.
Building and renewing tissues
Your body joins isoleucine with other amino acids to make proteins. These proteins help build and maintain muscle, skin and other tissues. The body continually breaks down and rebuilds proteins as part of normal tissue renewal.(1)
Providing fuel for muscles
Your muscles can break down isoleucine to help make usable energy. It is one of several fuels they can use, alongside carbohydrates and fats.(3)
The Three BCAAs
Isoleucine belongs to a group called the branched-chain amino acids, often shortened to BCAAs. The other two are leucine and valine. The name describes their shape; all three are building blocks your body needs from food.(3)
Isoleucine in Everyday Foods
Meat and poultry
Fish
Eggs
Milk and dairy products
Beans, lentils and soy foods
Nuts and seeds
Whole grains
Leafy vegetables
Nopal cactus pads
The amount you get depends on the food and how much you eat. A varied diet supplies isoleucine alongside other building blocks the body needs.(5)
How Much Isoleucine Is in Nopal?
USDA’s food database provides a useful reference for isoleucine naturally present in raw nopales, the edible cactus pads.(7)
USDA FoodData Central · “Nopales, raw”
The USDA entry lists 0.049 grams of isoleucine per 100 grams of raw nopales, equal to 49 milligrams. This gives an idea of the amount in fresh cactus pads.(7)
The USDA value is a general food reference.
From Our Farms to Your Bottle
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 isoleucine 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.
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 articleSource References
- 01Nutrition referencePhysiology, Proteins.View source
Full citation
LaPelusa A, Kaushik R. “Physiology, Proteins.” StatPearls. National Center for Biotechnology Information. - 02Nutrition referenceNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. National Academies Press.View source
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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. National Academies Press. - 03Research referenceBranched Chain Amino Acids.View source
Full citation
Neinast M, Murashige D, Arany Z. “Branched Chain Amino Acids.” Annual Review of Physiology. 2019;81:139–164. - 04Research reviewNovel Metabolic and Physiological Functions of Branched Chain Amino Acids: A Review.View source
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Zhang S, Zeng X, Ren M, Mao X, Qiao S. “Novel Metabolic and Physiological Functions of Branched Chain Amino Acids: A Review.” Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology. 2017;8:10. - 05Nutrition referenceU.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central.View source
Full citation
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central. - 06Research referenceNopal Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) as a Source of Bioactive Compounds for Nutrition, Health and Disease.View source
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. - 07USDA food composition referenceNopales, raw.View source
Full citation
U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central. “Nopales, raw.” FDC ID 168571. Isoleucine: 0.049 g per 100 g of raw edible food, equivalent to 49 mg. - 08Government nutrition referenceAmino acids.View source
Full citation
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. “Amino acids.” U.S. National Library of Medicine. Explains essential amino acids, including isoleucine, leucine and valine, and the body’s use of amino acids to make proteins.