The vitamin C "ceiling" in the fruit industry, many people may have never heard of it

Have you heard of a magical fruit that has dozens of times more vitamin C than oranges? It is small in shape, sweet and sour in flesh, but contains amazing nutrition. This is the roxburghii, a wild fruit unique to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, known as the "King of Vitamin C".

Perhaps many people have not heard of the prickly pear, but it has nutritional value that cannot be underestimated. So, what is so special about this low-key fruit? Let's learn about it in this article.

As a niche fruit

The vitamin C content of sea buckthorn is 78 times that of orange

Seabuckthorn is a fruit that grows in the southwest of my country, and the one grown in Guizhou is the most famous. Even in relatively poor land, seabuckthorn can thrive and provide people with high-quality fruits.

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The shape of the pear is as its name suggests. When ripe, the fruit is golden yellow, similar to the color of the pear. After peeling off the skin, the flesh is yellow-white with black seeds scattered on it, which is very cute. However, the fruit is not only small in size, but also covered with sharp thorns on the surface, which makes it look unapproachable. In addition, the taste is a bit sour, so it is not widely popular in China.

Rosa roxburghii belongs to the genus Rosa of the Rosaceae family in botanical classification. Although it is not from the same family as snow pear, duck pear, and autumn moon pear, it belongs to the same large family of Rosaceae. The biggest difference between Rosa roxburghii and other Rosaceae fruits (such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, etc.) is that the vitamin C content of Rosa roxburghii is far higher than that of other fruits.

Among common fruits, fresh dates, oranges, kiwis, etc. have the highest vitamin C content, but compared with sea buckthorn, they can only be regarded as younger brothers and have been completely defeated. Let's use data to speak:

Data from "Chinese Food Nutrition Composition Table" (6th edition)

It can be seen that the vitamin C content of sea roxburgh is not at the same level as other fruits. Compared with the vitamin C content of apples, pears, peaches, plums, and apricots, it is hundreds of times higher - more than 860 times that of apples ; even compared with kiwis, fresh dates, oranges, and lemons, the vitamin C content of sea roxburgh is dozens of times higher - 78 times that of oranges !

Therefore, if you want to consume more vitamin C and obtain its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune system-enhancing effects, sea buckthorn seems particularly attractive.

However, we should also remind everyone that although vitamin C is good, there is no need to deify it. It is more important to establish a healthy lifestyle than to supplement a single nutrient. Don't expect to prevent diseases by simply supplementing vitamin C.

Rosa roxburghii is rich in nutrients

The advantage of roxburghii is not only its high vitamin C content, but also its rich phytochemicals, especially flavonoids, polyphenols and antioxidant enzymes, such as flavonols, dihydroflavonoids, tannins, chlorogenic acid, quercetin and ellagic acid, as well as superoxide dismutase, etc. At the same time, the content of triterpenoids in roxburghii is very prominent.

As we all know, flavonoids and polyphenols have very strong antioxidant capacity, which can help remove free radicals, resist inflammatory damage, and protect human cells . In addition, flavonoids and polyphenols have also been proven to have significant effects in regulating blood sugar and blood lipids, protecting cardiovascular system, and helping to prevent arteriosclerosis.

Some studies have found that in animal experiments, roxburgh extracts have shown significant effects in reducing fasting blood sugar and serum insulin levels in mice, improving glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Other studies have found that flavonoids in roxburgh can reduce myocardial cell autophagy and apoptosis, and help prevent drug myocardial toxicity.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a long-standing "antioxidant ingredient" that has been used in food and skin care products for many years. It can quickly remove free radicals in the body and help delay cell aging. The superoxide dismutase content in sea buckthorn is "outrageous". Studies have found that its content can be as high as 13,000 activity units/100 grams, which is more than ten times that of sea buckthorn, another excellent antioxidant.

Triterpenoids have been proven to have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and immune-regulating effects . Rosa roxburghii contains triterpenoids such as roxburghii glycosides, pentacyclic triterpenoid ester glycosides, and rosa glycosides. The content of roxburghii glycosides in mature fruits can reach 441.16 mg/100 g, which is more than 30 times the content of triterpenoids in apples. It is no wonder that the development of roxburghii-related foods has continued in recent years, probably because of the potential health benefits of roxburghii.

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The color of roxburghii is golden, and the content of carotenoids is not low. According to the data of "Chinese Food Nutrition Composition Table" (6th edition), the content of carotenoids in roxburghii is 2900 micrograms/100 grams, which is more than 3 times the content of carotenoids in pumpkin, and is comparable to the content of spinach (2920 micrograms/100 grams), which is a major carotenoid producer. This is a perfect eye-protecting food for friends who have symptoms of dry eyes, eye fatigue, and want to prevent dry eyes and night blindness .

From this point of view, although the roxburgh with a strong fragrance tastes a bit sour, it is quite advantageous in terms of nutrition. So, the question is, what are the ways to eat such an excellent roxburgh to make it more palatable?

The prickly pear is so sour.

How can it be more delicious?

When it comes to sea buckthorn, Guizhou is the place to go. Guizhou, with its unique geographical location, soil and climate conditions, has produced higher quality sea buckthorns, which are not only richer in vitamin C and other antioxidants, but also have a variety of varieties. Some varieties with moderate sweetness and sourness can be eaten fresh.

In order to better facilitate the development of the seabuckthorn industry, Guizhou has been committed to cultivating better varieties of seabuckthorn. For example, the "thornless seabuckthorn" with no thorns on the surface is already being cultivated.

Guizhou people have many ways to eat sea buckthorn. You can often see sea buckthorn juice for sale on the streets of Guiyang. To avoid being too sour, this juice usually needs to be seasoned with water, sugar, honey or other sweet juices. As long as the sugar content is not high, it is worth a try. Making sea buckthorn into preserved fruit is also a very common way to eat it in Guizhou, but considering that preserved fruit usually has a high sugar content, it is not recommended for everyone to eat it often.

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Of course, the Chinese way of processing fruits is inseparable from wine making. The history of soaking sea buckthorn in wine has been passed down in Guizhou for nearly a thousand years. The fruity aroma of sea buckthorn and the aroma of liquor are combined to make the popular sea buckthorn liquor and sea buckthorn rice wine. You can have a drink when you travel to Guizhou. In addition, there is a local way of eating sea buckthorn porridge in Guizhou, which is made by adding fresh sea buckthorn juice to polished rice and rock sugar. This porridge is sour and sweet, not only refreshing, but also can stimulate appetite, so it is also very popular.

Some friends may say that these "ways of eating" are a bit too niche, and fresh sea buckthorn is rarely seen on the market. In fact, we can choose to soak sea buckthorn dried, sea buckthorn powder or sea buckthorn juice in water, which can not only increase water intake, but also supplement vitamin C.

Since there are a lot of other antioxidant ingredients in sea buckthorn, which can protect vitamin C, sun drying, freeze drying, low temperature drying, making puree or powder will not have much impact on the vitamin C content of sea buckthorn. If it feels a little sour, you can also add some fruits, tea, etc. according to your personal taste to adjust the sour taste and make the finished product more palatable.

Next time if you feel your mouth is empty and want to drink water but find boiled water a bit boring, you might as well try soaking dried sea buckthorn in water, or diluting sea buckthorn juice and drinking it. It is healthy to drink and will make you feel better.

But no matter which one you choose, remember to try to choose products with relatively clean ingredient lists, sugar-free or low-sugar products!

References

[1] Yang Yuexin. Standard Edition of Chinese Food Composition Table (6th Edition/Volume 1)[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018.

[2] Chen Chao. Isolation and purification of flavonoids from roxburghii polyphenols, hypoglycemic activity and mechanism research[D]. Guizhou University, 2022.

[3] Fu Yangyang, Liu Jiamin, Lu Xiaoluan, Peng Qianrong, Xie Youchao, Yang Min. Research progress on the main active ingredients and pharmacological effects of Rosa roxburghii[J]. Science and Technology of Food Industry, 2020, 41(13): 328-335,342.

[4] Yuan Huifang, Zhang Yongchun, Cai Xinhua, Xu Ping, Chen Hui, et al. Protective effect of rosa roxburghii flavonoids on adriamycin-induced cardiomyocyte toxicity[J]. Acta Anatomica Sinica, 2019(01):49-55.

[5] Li Da, Jiang Nan. Determination of VC SOD and flavonoids content in Rosa roxburghii and their mutual influence[J]. Agricultural Products Processing, 2016(3):49-57.

[6] Liu Hongzhang, Qi Jie. Study on the dynamic changes of sugar, acid, vitamin C and SOD in seabuckthorn[J]. Advances in Horticulture, 2006(3):253-257.

[7] Fan Weiguo, Zhou Yujia. Polyphenol and triterpenoid components, contents and antioxidant properties of extracts from Rosa roxburghii leaves, petals and fruits[J]. Journal of Guizhou University (Natural Science Edition), 2022, 39(5):13-2.

[8] Li Zhihua, Song Xiaokai, Zhao Yanmin, et al. Determination of total triterpenoid content in apple peel and pulp of different varieties [J]. Food Research and Development, 2014, 35(11):4.

Planning and production

Author: Wang Lu, registered dietitian

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert

Planning丨Wang Mengru

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin

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