Carissa macrocarpa
1 association assessed — none with dependable human evidence behind them yet. Strongest first.
A crimson, cranberry-tasting fruit from a thorny southern African shrub in the Apocynaceae family, often grown as a hedge and eaten fresh or made into jam. Only the ripe flesh is used.
Also known as Natal plum, Amatungulu, Big num-num
What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.
Carissa has been examined only in laboratory antioxidant assays and a little animal work. There is no human research at all, so no statement about any health outcome is supportable.
Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.
AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.
| Nutrient | Amount | % DV |
|---|---|---|
| Macronutrients | ||
| Calories | 62 kcal | 3% |
| Protein | 0.5 g | 1% |
| Total fat | 1.3 g | 2% |
| Carbohydrate | 13.6 g | 5% |
| Water | 84.2 g | — |
| Fats | ||
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% |
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin A | 2 µg | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 38 mg | 42% |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.04 mg | 3% |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.06 mg | 5% |
| Niacin (B3) | 0.2 mg | 1% |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 µg | 0% |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium | 11 mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1.31 mg | 7% |
| Magnesium | 16 mg | 4% |
| Phosphorus | 7 mg | 1% |
| Potassium | 260 mg | 6% |
| Sodium | 3 mg | 0% |
| Copper | 0.21 mg | 23% |
| Other measured compounds | ||
| Ash | 0.4 g | — |
Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
Source record: Carissa, (natal-plum), raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 173952).
% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.
Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
Flavonoid pigment
The water-soluble pigments behind red, purple and blue plant colour. Poorly absorbed intact; much of their measurable activity comes from microbial…
Polyphenol (class)
An umbrella term for thousands of plant phenolic compounds. Useful as a category, but a "high polyphenol" figure says nothing about which compounds…
Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.
Nothing dependable is recorded about how preparation changes this food’s nutritional properties. Rather than guess, this section stays empty.
Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.
Worth knowing
The plant is an Apocynaceae and its stems and leaves exude a milky latex that is not edible. Unripe fruit is astringent and traditionally discarded, and the ripe flesh is the only part used as food.
Allergy
Handling cut stems or unripe fruit can irritate skin. People with natural rubber latex allergy have reason to be careful with the plant itself, though reactions to the ripe fruit are not documented.