What is Night-Blooming Cereus?

Night-blooming cereus is a climbing cactus with big white flowers that open at night. Herbalists use the fresh young stems and the flowers. Its Latin name is Selenicereus grandiflorus.

Western herbalists have used it as a heart remedy. They gave it for a racing or fluttering pulse. They also gave it for chest pain and for a strong sense of the heart beating during stress.

The evidence is thin. We found no human trials of this plant. Long use by herbalists is not proof that a plant works, and that holds here.

How does Night-Blooming Cereus work?

No one has shown how it works in people. The idea handed down by herbalists is that it calms an over-excited heart and steadies the beat.

The stems hold small amounts of amines, which are plant chemicals that can act on nerves and blood vessels. In old lab work, extracts changed the force and rate of the beat in animal hearts. That is lab work, not proof in people.

Because it may touch heart rhythm at all, it is not a plant to try on your own for a heart problem.

What forms does Night-Blooming Cereus come in?

You will meet it in a few forms:

Fresh plant tincture, which is an alcohol extract of the young stems. This is the form old Western herbalists used most.

Dried stem in capsules or tea, though herbalists rated the dried plant as much weaker.

Homeopathic Cactus grandiflorus, sold as drops or pills. This is made by diluting the plant again and again. At 30C almost none of the plant is left, and trials do not tell such drops apart from a dummy pill.

Where it comes from:

Mexican and Central American in origin, this cactus came into Western use in the 1860s. An Italian doctor, Rubini, wrote it up as a heart remedy.

Eclectic and physiomedical doctors in the United States took it up and kept it in their books into the early 1900s. It stayed a niche remedy rather than a common one. It is still listed in some European herbal texts today.

What does Night-Blooming Cereus help with?

• Palpitations (a fluttering, pounding or racing heartbeat): This is the main old use. Western herbalists gave small doses of the tincture for a heart that pounded or skipped with no clear cause. We found no human trials for this use. New or repeated palpitations need a doctor, because some rhythm problems are dangerous.
• Angina (chest pain caused by a narrowed heart artery): Old Western texts list this use, and homeopathic Cactus grandiflorus is still sold for it. There is no trial support. Chest pain is never a symptom to self-treat, so treat this entry as history and call for help instead.
• Feeling your own heartbeat when anxious: Herbalists used it when worry made someone very aware of their own heart. This is the gentlest of its old uses. No study has tested it, and calming habits or talking therapy have far better support.
• Mild swelling in the ankles blamed on a weak heart: Older texts said it helped the body pass more urine when the heart was weak. That claim rests on case notes from the 1800s. Swollen ankles can mean heart, kidney or liver trouble, so get them checked.
• Slow or irregular pulse in older people: A few old writers used it here, sometimes alongside or instead of digitalis. There is no modern evidence at all. A slow or uneven pulse needs a proper heart check, not a herb.

Which foods are rich in Night-Blooming Cereus?

1. Dragon fruit (pitaya): a fruit from a close cactus cousin, eaten as food, not as this remedy
2. Cactus pear and nopal pads: other edible cactus foods, again different plants

What are the side effects of Night-Blooming Cereus?

• Nausea and stomach upset
• Burning or watering of the mouth from the fresh plant
• Skin rash or itching in some people
• A rise in blood pressure, from the amines in the plant
• Changes in heart rate or rhythm
• Headache
• Confusion or odd thoughts after large doses

Good to know:

Most reports of side effects come from large doses of the fresh plant. In the small doses used by herbalists, upset stomach and mouth burning are the common complaints.

The serious worry is the heart. A plant that may change the rate or rhythm of the beat can cause harm in the wrong person.

We have no modern safety studies, so no one can tell you how often problems happen.

How much Night-Blooming Cereus should you take?

• Recommended daily: No safe and tested dose is established. Doses in old herbal books were very small: about 1 to 5 drops of fresh stem tincture, up to three times a day. Some modern European products use 5 to 10 drops. Homeopathic drops follow their own labels, and at high dilutions they hold almost none of the plant. Because the plant may act on the heart, do not work out a dose for yourself. Ask a doctor or a trained herbalist first.
• Best time of day: Old books spread the small doses through the day, often morning, afternoon and evening. Keep the same times each day so you can spot any change.
• With or without food: Either. Taking the drops in a little water with food may ease stomach upset.
• Time to effect: Not known. Herbalists claimed a settling within an hour or two of a dose, but no study has measured this.
• How long to take it: Short use only. Old practice was a few weeks at a time, then a break and a fresh look at how you feel. Stop and see a doctor if nothing has changed after two weeks. Stop at once if your pulse, your breathing or your chest feel worse.