Opuntia, commonly called prickly pear, is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Prickly pears are also known as tuna (fruit), sabra,nopal (paddle, plural nopales) from the Nahuat word nōpalli for the pads, or nostle, from the Nahuatl word nōchtli for the fruit; or paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus, where, according to Theophrastus, an edible plant grew and could be propagated by rooting its leaves. The most common culinary species is the Indian fig opuntia (O. ficus-indica).
The Opuntia ficus indica plant is a member of the cactus family, Cactaceae, and is commonly known as Prickly Pear (aka India Fig Opuntia or Barbary Fig). This plant was native to Mexico, but it can now be found in various arid and semi-arid areas of the world such as Morocco. Prickly Pear cactus is known as the miracle plant for its ability to survive during long droughts and still produce healthy fruits. The Prickly Pear fruit contains numerous small black seeds from which the precious Prickly Pear Seed Oil is extracted.
Prickly Pear Seed Oil has a high concentration of Tocopherol (Vitamin E) and essential fatty acids (Linoleic Acid or Omega 6). This oil contains more tocopherol than any other oil available in the beauty care market (almost 150% more tocopherol than Argan oil). Tocopherols have strong antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties.
Prickly Pear Seed Oil (also known as Barbary Fig Seed Oil, or Cactus Seed Oil) is the best natural moisturizer on earth, up to 10 times more powerful than Argan oil.
Production Process of Prickly Pear Seed Oil:
Prickly pear seed oil is extracted during a very time-consuming and laborious procedure. Each seed detains only 5% of oil, so the production of 1-liter prickly pear seed oil needs nearly one ton (1,000 kg) of fruits to extract 25 kg of seeds.
1- Where do we collect the raw material – seeds:
The Prickly Pear Seed Oil production begins with a collecting the seeds from regions and villages where no pesticides or chemicals are used in compliance with our values.
The Prickly Pear seeds are separated from the pulp. Then washed carefully, air-dried under sunbeams and later stored in a cool and dry place.
2- Our production method:
After sorting the seeds, they are for the extraction process by drying them and cleaning from any pulp residue, to guarantee a 100% pure oil.
The extraction process is fully mechanic; no chemical solvents are used.