Native to Central America and Mexico, it belongs to the Cactaceae family. The population that inhabits the semi-arid regions of Mexico, uses this fruit for food, medicine, forage and agro-industrial purposes since pre-Hispanic times.
Eat 2-3 of the fruits to alleviate constipation. It is used, in the rest of the country, to relieve earache (take a slice of the plant, roast it on the stove and put a piece in the ear), as an anti-rabies (making a tea with the aerial part), and as a cure for animals’ insolation.
The fruit is rich in vitamins B, C and E, it has antioxidant properties which help reduce oxidative stress and provide protection against free radicals. Because it contains high levels of betacyanins and betaxanthins, it has been proven to assist in the prevention of cancer.
Stenocereus queretaroensis has phenolic compounds, which have shown to aid prevention of degenerative diseases (Quiroz et al., 2018). Pitaya is highly digestible and provides a prebiotic effect because its main component is a nitrogen-free extract (Gaytán-Andrade, J. J., et al, 2020)
Arriaga-Ruiz, M. C., Neri-Luna, C., Pimienta-Barrios, E., & Sánchez-Martínez, J. (2015). El fruto del pitayo silvestre (Stenocereus queretaroensis (Weber) Buxbaum), una alternativa alimenticia, nutricional, y socioeconómica en época de estiaje. Revista de Ciencias Naturales y Agropecuarias, 2(3), 362–367.https://www.ecorfan.org/bolivia/researchjournals/Ciencias_Naturales_y_Agropecuarias/vol2num3/Ciencias%20Naturales%20y%20Agropecuarias%20Vol%202%20Num%203%20Final_2.pdf
Gaytán-Andrade, J. J., Cobos-Puc, L. E., Iliná, A., Moreno-Dávila, I. M. M., Aguilar, C. N., & Silva-Belmares, S. Y. (2020). CARACTERIZACIÓN, DIGESTIBILIDAD Y EFECTO PREBIOTICO DEL EXTRACTO DEL FRUTO DE Stenocereus queretaroensis F.A.C. WEBER BUXBAUM. Revista Fitotecnia Mexicana, 43(3), 325–333. https://doi.org/10.35196/rfm.2020.3.325
Pliego, A.D. (2009). Características generales de la Pitaya en México. Monografía. Universidad Autónoma Agraria “Antonio Narro”. Coahuila, México. http://repositorio.uaaan.mx:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/418/60978s.pdf
Quiroz, B., García-Mateos, M., Corrales García, J., & Colinas y León, M. (2018). Pitaya (Stenocereus spp.): An under-utilized fruit. Journal of the Professional Association for Cactus Development, 20, 82–100.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330900123_Pitaya_Stenocereus_spp_An_under-utilized_fruit
Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera. (2017, June 6). Pitaya y Pitahaya: ¿no son lo mismo, pero son igual? gob.mx. https://www.gob.mx/siap/articulos/pitaya-y-pitahaya-no-son-lo-mismo-pero-son-igual