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The Tropical Fruits With the Highest Antioxidants

Sep 7, 2011 | By Shannon George
The Tropical Fruits With the Highest Antioxidants
Photo Credit Kevin Forest/Valueline/Getty Images

Tropical fruits are good sources of antioxidants such as vitamin C, phenolic compounds and anthocyanins, which combat free radical damage that may cause diseases like cancer. There are various methods of measuring antioxidant values in foods, and different studies deliver varying results, depending on the evaluation methods used. Factors such as the climate where the fruit is grown and post-harvest processing conditions also affect antioxidant content in tropical fruit.

ARS Study: Red Guava and Carambola

Research conducted by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service and presented at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in 2005 evaluated the antioxidant content of 12 Florida-grown tropical fruits, using the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) assay and the DPPH assay, which measures scavenging activity against another type of free radical. Of the tropical fruits evaluated by the ARS, the highest antioxidant capacities were found in red guava and carambola. After red guava and carambola, the white guava, red dragon and mamey fruits had the next-highest antioxidant counts, in descending order.

Monash University Malaysia Study: Guava and Banana

Another study, conducted by researchers at Monash University in Malaysia and published by "Food Chemistry" in 2007, used various measurement techniques to determine the tropical fruits with the highest primary and secondary antioxidant potentials. Primary and secondary antioxidants combat free radical damage in different ways, although both types are important. Of nine Malaysian-grown tropical fruits evaluated by this study, guava was found to have the highest primary antioxidant potential, as measured by DPPH and an assay measuring their iron-reducing activity; banana had the highest secondary antioxidant potential as measured by a different iron ion-related antioxidant assessment called iron chelation.

University of Murcia, Spain Study: Banana and Passion Fruit

In a study published by "Journal of Food Protection" in 2001, researchers at the University of Murcia, Spain's Department of Food Research measured the antioxidant content of tropical fruits by their scavenging activity against peroxyl free radicals -- the same type of free radical measured by the ORAC assay -- and also by their effectiveness in scavenging hypochlorous acid, or HOCl, an oxidant associated with inflammation. Of the fruits evaluated in this study, researchers determined banana to be the best peroxyl scavenger, and they concluded that passion fruit was the best HOCl scavenger.

Tropical Fruit Juice Winner: Acerola

If you're looking for a delicious tropical fruit smoothie that's chock-full of antioxidants, try acerola. Research conducted at State University of Campinas in Brazil and presented at at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) International Forum on Emerging Technologies in Food Processing in 2009 evaluated antioxidant content in commercialized frozen tropical fruit juice concentrates, as measured by DPPH assay, total phenolic content and total anthycyanin content. Of the 11 frozen fruits evaluated, acerola pulp provided the highest antioxidant content. You can buy acerola as bottled juice made from the frozen concentrate or in frozen pulp form for use in fruit smoothies.

References

Article reviewed by Mike Myers Last updated on: Sep 7, 2011

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