Camu Camu Health Benefits

Camu camu is a wild berry has become very popular in the world of holistics over the past several years, due to its high vitamin C content, as well as other vitamins and minerals. Much research has been carried out to determine camu camu health benefits. In 2011, scientists identified the potential of camu camu to be used as functional foods or as nutraceuticals.¹

Camu Camu is Rich in Vitamin C

A study conducted in 2002 found that the amounts of Vitamin C in camu camu berries increase as the fruit ripens, unlike other vitamin C-rich fruits, like acerola.² Researchers discovered that the skin of the camu camu berries is higher in ascorbic acid than the pulp and that Vitamin C content reaches its maximum when the fruit is still half-ripe.² According to published journal articles, even though freezer storage does lead to some loss of vitamin C content in camu camu, it maintained more vitamin C than most other natural sources.³

The National Institutes of Health and the Office of Dietary Supplements says, “Vitamin C is required for the biosynthesis of collagen, L-carnitine, and certain neurotransmitters; vitamin C is also involved in protein metabolism [1,2]. Collagen is an essential component of connective tissue, which plays a vital role in wound healing. Vitamin C is also an important physiological antioxidant [3] and has been shown to regenerate other antioxidants within the body, including alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) [4]. Ongoing research is examining whether vitamin C, by limiting the damaging effects of free radicals through its antioxidant activity, might help prevent or delay the development of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases in which oxidative stress plays a causal role. In addition to its biosynthetic and antioxidant functions, vitamin C plays an important role in immune function [4] and improves the absorption of nonheme iron [5], the form of iron present in plant-based foods. Insufficient vitamin C intake causes scurvy, which is characterized by fatigue or lassitude, widespread connective tissue weakness, and capillary fragility [1,2,4,6-9].”⁴

1. Akter, Mst. Sorifa, et al. “Nutritional Compositions and Health Promoting Phytochemicals of Camu-Camu (Myrciaria Dubia) Fruit: A Review.” Food Research International, vol. 44, no. 7, 2011, pp. 1728–1732., doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2011.03.045. ↩

2. Alves, Ricardo Elesbao, et al. “Camu-Camu (Myrciaria Dubia Mc Vaugh): A Rich Natural Source of Vitamin C .” Proceedings of the Interamerican Society for Tropical Horticulture, vol. 46, 2002, pp. 11–13., http://www.ceinfo.cnpat.embrapa.br/arquivos/artigo_1581.pdf. ↩

3. Akter, Mst. Sorifa, et al. “Nutritional Compositions and Health Promoting Phytochemicals of Camu-Camu (Myrciaria Dubia) Fruit: A Review.” Food Research International, vol. 44, no. 7, 2011, pp. 1728–1732., doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2011.03.045. ↩

4. “Office of Dietary Supplements – Vitamin C.” NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/#disc. ↩