Recent research conducted by scientists from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) investigated the healthful aspects of several tropical fruits, including guava, which was shown to be high in antioxidants, total phenolics, vitamin C and dietary fiber. These results were reported in the Oct. 2007 issue of Agricultural Research.
The researchers showed that carambola (or star fruit), red pitaya (or red dragon) and mamey sapote are all have high levels of antioxidant-rich phenolics. Mamey sapote was also found to have high levels of fiber. “But the one fruit that beats them all is guava,” writes Alfredo Flores, public affairs specialist, USDA-ARS, in the article.
Of the several tropical fruits studied, guava had the highest antioxidant capability, as measured in terms of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), as well as the highest levels of total phenolics, vitamin C and dietary fiber. “Guava’s antioxidant content proved to be around that of orange, grapefruit and broccoli, and just below that of spinach—all foods that are considered to be high in antioxidants,” notes Flores. “Other fruits that ranked surprisingly high in antioxidants included lychee and papaya.”
During the course of this research, the USDA-ARS scientists have been collaborating with scientists from the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred, as well as researchers at Siam University, Bangkok, Thailand, and Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, where some varieties of the tropical fruits not available in Florida are available for testing.
