Cactus Science in the News
It turns out there’s more than one use for cactus.
“The cactus is one of the edible vegetables in Mexico and is very nutritious,” (Dr. Norma) Alcantar says. She recalls her grandmother saying how the water was used to cook the cactus was then used to clean sediment from drinking water.
At USF, Alcantar began testing the filtration properties of the gooey substance inside the cactus called mucilage. Her research found the mucilage not only filters out sediments, it removes arsenic from the water.
The cactus mucilage is ideal because it’s natural, biodegradable, abundant and sustainable.
I never knew that. Now I do, and so do you.
