The fruit with the highest content of this vitamin ever discovered is the camu-camu, originating in the flooded regions of the Amazon called igapós. Wine-colored and the size of a jabuticaba tree, camu-camu has an average concentration of 2,880 milligrams of vitamin C for every 100 grams of pulp. The acerola, in turn, has an average of 1,790 milligrams of vitamin for every 100 grams of pulp, while the orange has about 40 mg. In addition to these fruits, vitamin C is also present in cashews, strawberries, lemons, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, green peppers and potatoes, among other vegetables.
The igapó areas where the camu-camu is found are located along the dark water rivers of the Amazon and remain flooded for around six months a year. The record-breaking fruit for vitamin C is still not used commercially and is difficult to find outside the region of origin.
Vitamin C is very important for the human body. Its lack causes scurvy, a disease that leads to weakening of bones and gums, even causing teeth to fall out. Going a few months without this vitamin can lead to death. In the old days, scurvy was quite common on ships, during longer journeys, until it was discovered that including oranges in the menu prevented the disease.
According to biochemist Júlio Tirapeg, from the University of São Paulo, the vitamin C found in camu-camu and acerola, in the form of ascorbic acid, is not completely absorbed by the body. “We are able to take only 70 milligrams a day,” he says. The remainder is eliminated in the urine. But, while it remains inside the body, this vitamin prevents the formation of free radicals – molecules with loose oxygen atoms, capable of attacking cells until they destroy them. Infections by bacteria or viruses lead to the increase of these radicals in the body. In this way, vitamin C increases resistance to infections.