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Herb library · Herb · Malpighia emarginata

Acerola (Barbados cherry)

A small, sour red cherry from the Caribbean and tropical Americas, among the richest natural sources of vitamin C. It is sold as a powder and in vitamin C supplements. One small study in people suggests the vitamin C in acerola juice is absorbed somewhat better than plain vitamin C; its other promoted effects rest on lab research.

Traditional use

A tropical American fruit eaten fresh or as juice and farmed for its vitamin C. A 1956 pediatric study called its juice "the richest known source of vitamin C". Today dried acerola powder is a common natural vitamin C ingredient in supplements.

What studies show

  • Limited· a lab measure, not a health outcome

    Vitamin C absorption: in a study of healthy young Japanese men, blood vitamin C after diluted acerola juice (50 mg vitamin C) tended to be higher, and less was lost in urine, than after the same dose of plain vitamin C. It measured absorption only, not any health outcome.

  • Insufficient

    Inflammation and oxidative damage: a 2024 review describes anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of acerola fruit and leaf in laboratory research. No trial of these effects in people was found.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AmountAcerola powders can carry a lot of vitamin C. Count it with any other vitamin C you take: NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements sets the adult upper limit at 2,000 mg a day from all sources, notes that too much can cause diarrhea, nausea and cramps, and warns that high doses could worsen iron overload in people with hemochromatosis.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

Sources

  1. Absorption and excretion of ascorbic acid alone and in acerola (Malpighia emarginata) juice: comparison in healthy Japanese subjects (Biol Pharm Bull, 2011) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Acerola (Malpighia emarginata) Anti-Inflammatory Activity-A Review (Int J Mol Sci, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Acerola (Malpighia glabra L., M. punicifolia L., M. emarginata D.C.): agriculture, production and nutrition (World Rev Nutr Diet, 2003) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Acerola juice, the richest known source of vitamin C; a clinical study in infants (J Pediatr, 1956) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Vitamin C — Fact Sheet for Consumers (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements) (opens in a new tab) · NIH ODS · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.