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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

13.11.2011

Opuntia, the anti-hangover cactus?

You can buy extracts of the cactus Opuntia ficus indica in almost every drugstore or health food store. According to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, these extracts are effective against hangovers caused by drinking too much. Sounds good. But is there any truth to the claim?

The reason for our scepticism is not the way the study was financed. Extracts Plus, a producer of Opuntia ficus indica supplements, funded the study. But that doesn't say much in our view. Not every researcher working for the commercial sector is unreliable.

The study doesn't indicate how much Opuntia you need to take to prevent a hangover. The researchers gave their drinking subjects two capsules from the manufacturer, which displays the puntia ficus indica contens in IE, and not [as the rest of the world does] in milligrams. How many mg are there in 1 IE? Goodness only knows. So if you are convinced by the study and you want to use Opuntia to cure your hangover, you can’t just walk into a shop and buy any old Opuntia supplement. You'd have to buy the stuff made by the sponsor.

And that's suspicious of course. But because we're such nice people, we're prepared to ignore this. No ill feelings.

The table below shows the effect of a heavy evening's drinking with and without taking Opuntia. It indicates the likelihood of the subjects developing a serious hangover. If they took Opuntia they were 60 percent less likely to develop a heavy hangover than if they had taken a placebo. And that was definitely the case if they had a high amount of alcohol in their blood [BAC]. The shaded figures in the table below are the ones that are statistically significant.

The reason we are not impressed by this study is because of the researchers' theoretical underpinnings. Opuntia ficus indica boosts the production of heat shock proteins [HSPs] in cells, they say. That effect "has been well described", and because HSPs protect cells against almost everything, they probably also protect cells against alcohol. That's the researchers' reasoning.

The problem is, though, that the studies the researchers cite – references 39 [Clin Sports Med. 1999 Jul; 18(3): 525-36.], 40 [Proc Nutr Soc. 1999; 58:1025-1033.] and 46 [Mol Med Today. 1999; 5:525-531.] – say nothing about Opuntia.

And another problem is that the references the researchers cite that do mention Opuntia – references 41 [J Ethnopharmacol. 1999; 67:213-218.] and 42 [Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2001; 65:45-50.] – say nothing about heat shock proteins.

"Opuntia ficus indica's mechanism of accelerating heat shock proteins has been well described." Right.

If that's the way you build your theory, is the rest of your study likely to hold water?

Source:
Arch Intern Med. 2004 Jun 28;164(12):1334-40.