by Andrea Kreidler

Created on: May 12, 2008   Last Updated: June 16, 2008

Next time you have a cold, why not skip the orange juice and try Camu-Camu? Though only the size of a large cherry, Camu-Camu, a fruit grown in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru and Brazil, has thirty times the amount of Vitamin C as an orange! Dr. James Duke, the retired chief botanist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ranked Camu-Camu #1 for colds in a comparative study of the effectiveness of botanicals for various health conditions.

History
The native population of the Amazon has not historically eaten the Camu-Camu fruit, probably because of its acidic taste. To be edible, Camu-Camu requires dilution or added sugar. 1957 was the first time a nutritional analysis of the fruit was performed, by the Instituto de Nutricion of the Ministry of Public Health of Peru.

Today, the Amazonians harvest the Camu-Camu they once ignored, placing the fruit into canoes (the Camu-Camu trees grow by rivers, which flood during the rainy season, leaving the trees 6 feet under the water for 4-5 months). Camu-Camu seedlings are available at no cost to rainforest dwelling natives in Peru, as the Peruvian government anticipates Camu-Camu becoming a popular export. The profits will help the natives maintain their traditional way of life. Thus far, Japan is the major buyer, using Camu-Camu in sports energy drinks and as a component of multivitamins.

Benefits
Camu-Camu not only has a higher Vitamin C content than an orange (between 21,000-500,000 ppm for Camu-Camu, while oranges have a content of 500-4,000 ppm), but has more Vitamin C than any other botanical in the world.

Sandoval of Albany University (2000) has shown that the Camu-Camu flesh inhibits the radical PPPH and has great antioxidant power.

Another benefit of Camu-Camu may be as an antidepressant. Gary Null, a nutritionist and researcher, rates Camu-Camu as 2nd in effectiveness of 19 plants containing chemical compounds with antidepressant properties. It can be substituted for or taken in conjunction with Zoloft or Prozac, and also helps calm anxiety and panic attacks.

The aforementioned Dr. James Duke ranked Camu-Camu #1 for the eye conditions glaucoma and cataracts, as well as for asthma, hepatitis, and as a natural painkiller.

Ironically, the Brazilians merely tout Camu-Camu as a hair strengthener and detangler.

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