The ten raw fruits and vegetables with the most vitamin C (total ascorbic acid) per 100 grams in the USDA's SR Legacy food composition data, led by acerola at 1,677.6 mg.
Acerola Cherries (West Indian, raw) have the most vitamin C of any raw fruit or vegetable in USDA FoodData Central's SR Legacy data, at 1,677.6 mg per 100 g. Raw green hot chili peppers (242.5 mg) and raw guava (228.3 mg) rank second and third. Figures are total ascorbic acid per 100 g of edible portion, as published in SR Legacy (April 2018).
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential nutrient that people get from food. Oranges are the best-known source, but the USDA's own composition data lists many raw fruits and vegetables with far more vitamin C per gram: raw oranges come in at 53.2 mg per 100 g, well below every food on this list. This list ranks raw fruits and vegetables by vitamin C per 100 grams of edible portion, using one dataset only: USDA FoodData Central's SR Legacy release. Each item links to its exact FoodData Central entry. Values are composite reference figures; real produce varies with variety, ripeness and storage.
Acerola (Malpighia emarginata), also called Barbados or West Indian cherry, is listed at 1,677.6 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, more than any other raw food in SR Legacy and more than 30 times the figure for raw oranges (53.2 mg). The fruit is very tart and is mostly sold as juice, puree or powder.
Raw green hot chili peppers are listed at 242.5 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, the highest of any raw pepper entry in SR Legacy. Chilies are eaten in small amounts, so this is a per-gram concentration, not a typical serving.
Common guava (Psidium guajava) is listed at 228.3 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, about four times SR Legacy's figure for raw oranges.
Raw yellow sweet peppers are listed at 183.5 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, well above SR Legacy's figures for raw red (127.7 mg) and green (80.4 mg) bell peppers.
European blackcurrants (Ribes nigrum) are listed at 181 mg of vitamin C per 100 g. Red and white currants are listed far lower, at 41 mg.
SR Legacy lists the SunGold gold kiwifruit variety at 161.3 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, compared with 92.7 mg for raw green kiwifruit.
Raw red hot chili peppers are listed at 143.7 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, lower than the green chili entry at number 2 (242.5 mg).
Drumstick pods are the long seed pods of the moringa tree (Moringa oleifera), cooked as a vegetable in South Asian cuisines. SR Legacy lists them raw at 141.0 mg of vitamin C per 100 g.
Mustard spinach, or tendergreen (Brassica rapa var. perviridis, also called komatsuna), is listed raw at 130.0 mg of vitamin C per 100 g.
Raw red bell pepper is listed at 127.7 mg of vitamin C per 100 g in SR Legacy, below the yellow bell pepper (183.5 mg) and well above the green bell pepper (80.4 mg).
| # | Name | type | fdc_entry | fdc_id |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acerola Cherries (West Indian, raw) | Fruit | Acerola, (west indian cherry), raw | 171686 |
| 2 | Green Hot Chili Peppers (raw) | Vegetable | Peppers, hot chili, green, raw | 170497 |
| 3 | Guava (raw) | Fruit | Guavas, common, raw | 173044 |
| 4 | Yellow Bell Pepper (raw) | Vegetable | Peppers, sweet, yellow, raw | 169383 |
| 5 | Blackcurrants (raw) | Fruit | Currants, european black, raw | 173963 |
| 6 | Gold Kiwifruit (SunGold, raw) | Fruit | Kiwifruit, ZESPRI SunGold, raw | 168211 |
| 7 | Red Hot Chili Peppers (raw) | Vegetable | Peppers, hot chili, red, raw | 170106 |
| 8 | Drumstick (Moringa) Pods (raw) | Vegetable | Drumstick pods, raw | 170483 |
| 9 | Mustard Spinach (Tendergreen, raw) | Vegetable | Mustard spinach, (tendergreen), raw | 168438 |
| 10 | Red Bell Pepper (raw) | Vegetable | Peppers, sweet, red, raw | 170108 |
Foods are ranked by vitamin C (total ascorbic acid) in milligrams per 100 grams of edible portion, highest first. Every value comes from a single dataset, USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (final release, April 2018); FoodData Central's newer Foundation Foods and FNDDS datasets report different values for some of the same foods and are not mixed in. Eligible foods are SR Legacy entries for raw fruits and vegetables (the Fruits and Fruit Juices and Vegetables and Vegetable Products groups). Excluded: dried, freeze-dried, dehydrated or powdered products (e.g. freeze-dried bell peppers, dried jujubes, dried litchis); juices and juice concentrates; cooked, sauteed, canned or frozen preparations; fruit peels (orange and lemon peel); fresh and dried herbs used as seasonings (e.g. parsley, thyme); fortified products, drinks and supplements; and raw pokeberry (poke) shoots, which SR Legacy lists raw but which are not eaten raw. Also excluded is SR Legacy's American Indian/Alaska Native foods group, a regional dataset of traditionally harvested wild foods (it lists, for example, wild rose hips at 426 mg, young willow leaves at 190 mg and cloudberries at 158 mg) rather than general food-supply items. The next eligible food below the cut is raw jalapeno pepper at 118.6 mg (FDC 168576).
In USDA FoodData Central's SR Legacy data, raw acerola (West Indian cherry) has the most: 1,677.6 mg of vitamin C per 100 g. Raw green hot chili peppers (242.5 mg) and raw guava (228.3 mg) are next among raw fruits and vegetables.
No. SR Legacy lists raw oranges (all commercial varieties) at 53.2 mg per 100 g. Raw red bell peppers (127.7 mg), green kiwifruit (92.7 mg), broccoli (89.2 mg) and Brussels sprouts (85.0 mg) are all higher per gram, and every other food on this list is higher still; raw red bell pepper itself is #10.
Published figures depend on which dataset is used. This list uses SR Legacy for every food: raw red bell pepper 127.7 mg and raw green bell pepper 80.4 mg per 100 g. FoodData Central's newer Foundation Foods dataset and older USDA releases give different values for some of these foods, and sites that mix datasets can show higher numbers.
SR Legacy's only rose hip entry (wild rose hips, 426 mg per 100 g) belongs to its American Indian/Alaska Native foods group, a regional dataset of traditionally harvested wild foods. This list excludes that whole group, which also contains young willow leaves (190 mg) and cloudberries (158 mg).
The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements lists the RDA for adults as 90 mg/day for men and 75 mg/day for women, 35 mg/day higher for people who smoke, with a tolerable upper intake level of 2,000 mg/day for adults.
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