TriVita Nopalea Cactus Juice Evidence Based Review

Nopalea is said to be a “superfruit concentrate” that “helps put out the fire of inflammation.”  Cellular inflammation has gotten a lot of attention lately because research has noted that it plays a role in many diseases.  But, does Nopalea work or is it a scam?  More specifically, does Nopalea reduce cellular inflammation and reduce the risk of disease?  It’s because of these questions that I wanted to write this Nopalea review to help sort through the facts in case you were wondering the same thing.

Who Makes Nopalea Juice?

Nopalea cactus juice is made by TriVita, which markets many health supplements such as  TriVita Sublingual B12 and TriVita Super Sublingual B12.  See my reviews on those for more info.  The TriVita company is located at 16100 Greenway Hayden Loop #950 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 and their phone # is (480) 337-4000.

According to the Better Business Bureau, they give Trivita a rating of A+ as of 8/23/13.

Nopalea Ingredients

There are a LOT of ingredients in TriVita Nopalea juice.   Just a few include grape seed extract, agave nectar, raspberry and strawberry extracts and many other things that I won’t touch on here.   Rather, I want the focus of

Nopalea Cactus Juice

this Nopalea review to be on its “main ingredient” –  the ingredient discussed most on TriVita Nopalea TV commercials and websites.

That ingredient is the Nopal cactus fruit.  They call it “Opuntia concentrate” on the Nopalea bottle but it also goes by the name Prickly Pear Cactus and Nopal cactus. Its scientific name is Opuntia ficus-indica.   It is this ingredient on which I will focus in this review.

What Does Nopalea Nean?

Nopalea is not just the name of this TriVita supplement.  It’s a real word.  Nopalea means cactus. In taxonomy, it refers specifically to the genus of the Nopal cactus plant which has deep red flowers.

How Is Nopalea Supposed to Work?

If you watch the Nopalea juice TV commercial, they say that Nopalea is derived from the Nopal cactus and that this plant has compounds (they call them betalains) that reduce inflammation in the body.

By reducing chronic inflammation, Nopalea juice is supposed to reduce the risk of disease and­ – maybe – improve health problems that people have right now.

Nopalea Juice Research

On the website nopalea.com  there are 12 research studies listed that claim to testify to the benefits of the Nopal cactus (Prickly Pear Cactus) extract at helping chronic inflammation,  boosting the immune system and protecting the brain.  The first thing I noticed about all of these studies however, is that NOT ONE of them contained the word “Nopalea.”  In other words, it doesn’t look like any of the studies were conducted using the Nopalea wellness drink.

While Nopalea.com only lists the studies, I want to directly link to them so you can see the research for yourself.  They all sound very impressive and technical so I’ll also give brief commentary, where needed, to put the research in perspective.

The studies are grouped together as follows:

Anti-toxin Activity Studies

Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) protects against oxidative damage induced by the mycotoxin zearalenone in Balb/C mice.  (Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 May;46(5):1817-24.)   This is a mouse study.

Opuntia ficus indica extract protects against chlorpyrifos-induced damage on mice liver. (Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Feb;46(2):797-802.)   This is a mouse study.

Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill. fruit juice protects liver from carbon tetrachloride-induced injury. (Phytother Res. 2005 Sep;19(9):796-800.)  This is rat study.

Anti-Inflammatory Studies

An anti-inflammatory principle from cactus.” (Fitoterapia. 2001 Mar;72(3):288-90).   This is a mouse study.

Antioxidant betalains from cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) inhibit endothelial ICAM-1 expression. (Gentile C, Tesoriere L, Allegra M, Livrea MA, D’Alessio P. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2004 Dec;1028:481-6.).  This is a test tube study.

Effect of Opuntia ficus indica on symptoms of the alcohol hangover.  This is a human study of 55 men. Researchers noted that extracts of the Nopal cactus seemed to reduce alcohol-induced hangover symptoms. The researchers speculated that the Nopal cactus extract worked because of its anti-inflammatory effects.

This study of hangovers appears to be the main study cited to support the anti-inflammation benefits of the Nopal cactus – and hence Nopalea juice.

Immune System Boost Studies

Betalains a betacyanin pigment purified from fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica induces apoptosis in human chronic myeloid leukemia Cell line-K562. (Phytomedicine. 2007 Nov;14(11):739-46.).   Apotosis means “cell death” and K562 cells are a type of cancer cell.  This is a test tube study where researchers basically found that extracts of the Nopal cactus destroyed cancer cells in a test tube  — not in a human.

When I say “test tube study” I am making a general statement about a study that took place outside of a living organism like animals or humans.  Technically they are called “in-vitro studies.”   There are some advantages of these types of investigations but they are not as “real life” as those that take place in animals or—especially— in humans.  We are much more complicated than what goes on in a test tube.

Antioxidant betalains from cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) inhibit endothelial ICAM-1 expression. (Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2004 Dec;1028:481-6.).  This is basically a test tube study.

Modulation of intracellular calcium concentrations and T cell activation by prickly pear polyphenols. (Mol Cell Biochem. 2004 May;260(1-2):103-10.).  This is a test tube study.

Brain Protection Studies

Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase expression in activated microglia and peroxynitrite scavenging activity by Opuntia ficus indica var. saboten. (Phytother Res. 2006 Sep;20(9):742-7.).  This is basically a test tube study.

Nopalea Cactus fruit

Interventions for protecting against or treating alcohol hangover: systematic review of randomized controlled trials.” BMJ. 2005 Dec 24;331(7531):1515-8.).  This study is basically a review of several previous studies that tried to determine if there was any good way to reduce the symptoms of an alcohol hangover.  Researchers concluded that there was no good proof that the Nopal cactus (Prickly Pear Cactus) or anything else helps hangovers caused by drinking too much.

Effect of Opuntia ficus indica on symptoms of the alcohol hangover.  (Arch Intern Med. 2004 Jun 28;164(12):1334-40.).  This is the same study of alcohol hangovers that was mentioned above.

So the Nopalea.com website mentions the same study twice —three times if you count the study listed just prior to this one.

Neuroprotective effects of antioxidative flavonoids, quercetin, (+)-dihydroquercetin and quercetin 3-methyl ether, isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. (Brain Res. 2003 Mar 7;965(1-2):130-6.).  This is essentially a test tube study of rat brain cells.   Extracts of the Nopal cactus reduced free radical damage to isolated rat brain cells.

So what can we say about these 11 studies that are listed on Nopalea.com?  Well, I come to the following conclusions:

1. None of them used the Nopalea supplement itself
2. Most of the studies were test tube studies and a few mouse / rat studies
3. The only human study listed has to do with hangovers

Now let’s dig a little deeper into the research on Nopalea juice itself.  I searched the National Library of Medicine for “TriVita Nopalea” to see if any studies had been done using this supplement.  I could not locate any.

I take this to mean there are no published peer reviewed studies on TriVita Nopalea juice.  I conclude this also because if there were any, TriVita would have listed them on their Nopalea.com website.

Now, let’s look at some of the research on Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia ficus indica) —the type of cactus used in the TriVita Nopalea supplement.

TriVita websites and TV commercials say that Nopalea juice is a natural anti-inflammatory agent. In the study of Nopal cactus and hanovers, researchers speculated that it reduced hangovers because it reduced

Nopalea and chronic inflammation

inflammation in the brain. They probably arrived at this conclusion because they noted that Nopal cactus reduced levels of CRP —a compound that  indicates inflammation in the body.

Since CRP levels are also elevated in other inflammatory diseases, like arthritis, might extracts of the Nopal cactus also help these other conditions?  TriVita hints that it will but they provide no direct proof.

There is also some research that opuntia ficus indica as a supplement has antioxidant properties.  One small human study (only 18 people) noted that consuming the pulp of the nopal cactus was a better antioxidant  than vitamin C.

This actually makes sense because the pulp of the cactus fruit has many different compounds which likely act together to bring about a better antioxidant effect. Vitamin C on the other hand, is just vitamin C.

As an aside, this study lends more evidence that food is a better antioxidant than individual antioxidant vitamins.

Something to think about. This study used 500 grams (17.8 oz) of Nopal cactus pulp (and compared it to 150 mg of vitamin C).  In theory, lesser amounts of Nopal cactus fruit might work too. I say this because I do not know how much Nopal cactus fruit or pulp is in a serving of TriVita Nopalea.

There is also interest in Nopal cactus for diabetes where research has noted that it might reduce blood sugar levels. The issue here is that research often uses another species of Nopal cactus called Opuntia streptacantha and not the type of cactus used in TriVita Nopalea (which uses Opuntia ficus indica).

I did locate one small lab mouse study (on the University of Nevada School of Medicine website) that compared opuntia ficus indica to Opuntia streptacantha in how they might help diabetes by reducing blood sugar.

Researchers noted that while extracts from both types of Nopal cactus could lower blood sugar to some extent, it was the Opuntia streptacantha that seemed to have the biggest effect.   Again, Trivita Nopolea does not contain Opuntia streptacantha.

In this study researchers injected extracts of both types of the Nopal cactus  into mice.   This is important because taking the extract by mouth —like in a supplement —may not produce the same effects.

If TriVita Nopalea juice does help lower blood sugar, fantastic!  Just remember that there is MUCH MORE evidence that exercise —even 20 minutes a day —can lower not only blood sugar but “A1C” levels too.  Please see my other website, for more about the benefits of exercise for diabetes.

Here is another review of the claims of Nopalea that appears on website of The American Institute for Technology and Science Education.

Nopalea And Weight Loss

Some have asked me if Opuntia ficus indica can help weight loss.  Since the cactus pulp has fiber, it’s possible, just as all fiber foods can aid weight loss.  That said, I could not locate any studies on humans or animals showing that opuntia ficus indica helps weight loss.  Like all foods, it may have its place in a healthy diet but until somebody proves it, I would be very skeptical of anyone who said Opuntia ficus indica (or Nopalea juice) was some magical weight loss secret.

What Are Betalains?

One of the central ideas discussed to explain the benefits of Nopalea are betalains.  But what are they?  Well, if you check their Wikipedia page, you learn that that the word betalain means “beet“, the food from which they were first obtained. Betalains are also responsible for the red color of beets.

Betalains (pronounced bay-ta-linz) are a type of phytonutrient  (plant chemical) that gives food and plants color.   So, betalains are like other phyto-nutrients such as beta carotene, resveratrol, anthocyanins and lycopene. Like all of these other things, the betalains likely have some healthy effects when eaten.

For example, betalains appear to help with the antioxidant properties of Nopal cactus and, at least in a test tube, they seem to help kill cancer cells, and protect blood vessels from free radical damage.

According to Wikipedia, there are two types of betalains:

Betacyanins : a deep read pigment

Betaxanthins: a yellow  / orange pigment

How much of each type of betalain is in Nopalea?  I don’t know.  Honestly, I don’t think it matters because I think the marketing of TriVita Nopalea juice  puts too much emphasis on the betalains and neglects other things in Nopal cactus fruit that can also contribute to healthy effects.

Betalains and Cancer

Because the betalains of Prickly Pear Cactus seem to act as antioxidants, some wonder if they might help ward off cancer or if they might be a natural alternative to chemotherapy. I dont recommend this for a couple of reasons

1.  I see no betalain supplement research concerning cancer treatment in humans.

2.  Any antioxdiant effects of betalains might —in theory —interfere with traditional cancer treatment.

Think about it.  Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and free radical damage is how chemo and radiation therapy kill cancer cells.  If you have cancer, PLEASE talk to your oncologist about this before experimenting with betalain supplements or Nopalea juice.

Nopalea Juice and NSAIDs?

Various TriVita websites hint that Nopalea juice can be a safer alternatives to aspirin and other NSAIDs because of the natural anti-inflammatory effects of the Nopal cactus.  But, as far as I can tell, this antiinflammatory effect has only been demonstrated in humans once —in the study of hangovers.

On 2/3/12 on the TV show “The Doctors” model, Cheryl Tiegs lists Nopalea cactus juice as one of her anti-aging secrets.  Cheryl says she drinks Nopalea to help reduce inflammation.  Cheryl Tiegs, definitely looks great but I wonder if she knows where the anti-inflammation research actually comes from?

3/29/12. Update. Cheryl Tiegs is appearing in Nopalea TV infomercials.

I can’t find ANY published peer reviewed studies showing that TriVita Nopalea —or the betalains —helps arthritis or any other condition linked to chronic inflammation.  It’s possible that Nopalea juice can do this by lowering CRP levels.  But, where’s the proof?  TriVita has stated that they first rolled out Nopalea in 2009.  Why have they not given us any good scientific proof that it does what they say?

Who is Doctor Becky Maes?

Dr Becky Maes is featured on the Nopalea TV commercial I saw on 1/18/12.  On her facebook page she says she is a “an MD, Gastroenterologist, Entrepreneur, Author, Mother and Nutritional Expert.”  On the TriVita Nopalea commercial, Dr. Maes says that she has “made it my life’s mission to find superior products that are natural, effective and supported by credible scientific research.”

On her Linkedin page,  Dr. Maes says that she is a “One Star Director at TriVita.”  She also notes on her Linkedin profile that she is a “Nutrition Coach at TriVita.”  So Dr. Becky is affiliated with Trivita!  That’s fine and I’m glad she disclosed this on her linkedin profile.  I just wish this was made clear on the Nopalea commercial.

The Nopalea Wellness Challenge

You may have heard of The Nopalea Wellness Challenge.  This is how it works.  You drink 3-6 oz of Nopalea juice per day for 30 days and track your progress —how you feel ect —on a form that TriVita gives you.  The wellness challenge is free, but you do need to pay $9.95 for shipping and handling.

Each bottle of Nopalea has 32 oz so if you drank only 3 oz per day, 1 bottle of Nopalea would only last you only about 10 days.

But, during the Nopalea TV infomercial, some of the testimonials noted that it might take 3 months before any differences were noticed.   If this is typical for most people, it means that you would need 3 bottles of Noplalea per month or about 9 bottles of Nopalea per 3 months.  Keep this in mind because let’s now discuss how much Nopalea costs.

How Much Does Nopalea Juice Cost?

As far as I could tell, Nopalea is not sold in stores.  So I called TriVita and asked them how much Nopolea juice cost and this is what they told me.

There are several options:

• 5 Pack.  Buy 4 get 1 free.  Cost: $139.99 + 14.95 S/H = $154.94

• 3 Pack.  Buy 2 get 1 free.  Cost: $ 79.98 + 14.95 S/H = $94.93

• 2 Pack.  Buy 1 get 1 free.  Cost: $39.95 +$14.95 S/H  = $54.90

• 10 Pack.  Buy 8 and get 2 free.  Cost.  $279.98 + $29.90 S/H  = $309.88

So, if you really wanted to do the Nopalea Wellness Challenge and were willing to give it 3 months, it would cost you about $300 to do it.

Most of these options have an auto ship program where TriVita will send you a new batch of Nopolea juice each 30 days.  You can “customize” the auto-ship so that they send it to you at intervals that work best for you, so be sure to do this if you order Nopalea to avoid stockpiling it.

Here is Trivita Nopalea on Amazon for those who want to compare prices.

There are also several other brands of Nopalea juice on Amazon such as:

• Qi Nopal Juice

• Organic Certified Nopal Juice

• Nochtl Juice

• Prickly Pear Nectar

• Napolea Desert Bloom

Is the TriVita brand better than  these other products? I don’t know.

Nopalea Side Effects

Nopalea TV commercials make the bold claim “No Side Effects” and the Nopalea website says that “There are no known contraindications with Nopalea and medications.”  But, if Nopalea juice does lower blood sugar levels, it might interact with blood sugar lowering medications.  There is a little evidence that extracts of Nopal cactus might cause hypoglycemia in people who take diabetes medications.  It’s only one study and I don’t know how significant this effect might be but I wanted to mention it.  Other than this, I am not aware of any side effects from Nopalea juice. Right now, I don’t know if there are any side effects because as far as I can tell, nobody has published any research on Trivia Nopalea juice itself. That said, I think in healthy people Trivita Nopalea is likely safe.

Nopalea and the FTC

In July 2014 the Federal Trade Commission reported the several Nopalea juice companies, including TriVita had agreeed to refund consumers 3.5 milion dollars stemming from claims that Nopalea juice could treat various diseases. Here is the FTC letter for those who want to read it.

Does Nopalea Work?

I honestly don’t know if Nopalea juice works or not.  I hope it does because they are giving a lot of people the idea it will help. Since writing my review, it appears the FTC agrees with me given that they made several companies issue refunds to consumers. Refunds aside, it’s possible Nopalea might help some people but I would feel more comfortable recommending it if there was better research. I tried to get a few bottles of Nopalea to try myself but could not find anyone to give me any.

If you are really curious about it – but on a budget – just get the free bottle  of Nopalea and see if that works before paying for the more expensive options.  If you do try Nopalea and —and want to be scientific about it —I suggest you get your blood work done first – including CRP levels – by your doctor.   Then, after a month or so, get your blood work done again —including CRP —to see if anything has changed.  If you do this Nopalea experiment, I’d like to know what happened.

Here is Nopalea Juice on Amazon for those who are interested.

What do you think?