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Camu camu

A sour berry from an Amazonian shrub, very high in vitamin C and sold dried as a powder. Two small trials in people exist: one found less liver fat after 12 weeks of camu camu capsules, and one found lower inflammation markers in smokers who drank its juice.

Traditional use

An Amazonian fruit, sour and rich in vitamin C, made into juice and sold abroad as a dried powder promoted as a natural source of vitamin C.

What studies show

  • Limited

    Liver fat: in a 2024 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of 30 overweight adults with high triglycerides, 1.5 g of camu camu a day for 12 weeks lowered liver fat (it rose on placebo) and lowered two liver enzymes. It is a single small trial.

  • Limited· a lab measure, not a health outcome

    Oxidative stress in smokers: in a 7-day trial in Japan, 20 male smokers drank 70 mL of camu camu juice or took the same amount of vitamin C (1,050 mg) as tablets. Markers of oxidative stress and inflammation fell with the juice and not with the tablets. These are lab measures in a very small group.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AmountCamu camu is very high in vitamin C; the juice in the smokers' trial carried about 1,050 mg a day. NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements sets the adult upper limit for vitamin C at 2,000 mg a day from all sources and notes that too much can cause diarrhea, nausea and cramps.
  • ConditionFatty liver needs a clinician's care; the one trial of camu camu for liver fat was small and short.
  • 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. Camu-camu decreases hepatic steatosis and liver injury markers in overweight, hypertriglyceridemic individuals: A randomized crossover trial (Cell Rep Med, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Tropical fruit camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties (J Cardiol, 2008) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. 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.