Antioxidant Rich Foods, Ranked, and the Australian Fruit at 10.5 Times a Blueberry

By Darren McArthur, Real McArthur, an Australian family business making natural products for over 25 years · Published 25 September 2026 · Last updated 30 September 2026 · Sourced from published studies and our own lab certificate

Our Kakadu plum, lab tested: 121mg of natural vitamin C in every gram, 60mg in every capsule, against an adult need of 45mg a day. Gram for gram, 240 times the vitamin C of a fresh orange.

The most antioxidant rich foods are spices and herbs, then dried berries, nuts and dark chocolate. In one of the largest studies of its kind, which tested more than 3,100 foods, dried cloves came out on top, followed by dried amla (Indian gooseberry), peppermint, allspice, rose hips and cinnamon.[9]

One Australian fruit wasn’t in that study. When the Australian Government ran the FRAP test (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) on Kakadu plum and compared it against blueberry, the fruit most people think of when they hear “antioxidant”, Kakadu plum scored 10.5 times higher.[1] A second test, ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), gave it 5.7 times the score of blueberry, and its total polyphenols, the compounds behind most of the antioxidant activity, came in at 4.7 times blueberry.[1]

These are not marketing numbers. They are the results of two independent laboratory assays, published in a government-commissioned report in 2009.

Antioxidant Rich Foods, Ranked per 100g

These are the richest foods in the Carlsen study, measured with the FRAP method in millimoles (mmol) per 100 grams.[9] Spices top the list by weight, but you eat them a pinch at a time, so berries, nuts, dark chocolate and drinks do more of the everyday work.

Kakadu plum was measured in a different laboratory, the Australian Government’s, against blueberry rather than on this exact scale, so it sits in its own comparison below instead of in this table.

What “Antioxidant Power” Actually Measures

Every cell in the body runs on oxygen. As a side effect of that process, unstable molecules called free radicals form continuously. They are missing an electron and they take one from wherever they can, including from the structure of your cells, proteins and DNA. That damage, over time, is called oxidative stress.

Antioxidants donate an electron to a free radical without becoming unstable themselves. The free radical is neutralised before it can cause damage. FRAP measures exactly this: how much reducing power a food has, meaning how many free radicals it can neutralise per gram.

The test does not pick one antioxidant and measure it. It measures the combined effect of every antioxidant in the food at the same time. That is why foods with a wide range of antioxidant compounds score higher than foods with a single high-dose one.

Kakadu plum contains not one antioxidant compound but dozens, from five separate chemical families. That is the reason for the number.

The Comparison: Kakadu Plum Against Blueberry

The same Australian Government (RIRDC) study that tested Kakadu plum measured blueberry as its comparison fruit. Blueberry is the standard benchmark for high-antioxidant foods in Australian and international research.[1]

An important detail: 26.5% of Kakadu plum’s antioxidant power comes from fat-soluble compounds (vitamin E, lutein and chlorophyll), not only from the water-soluble vitamin C.[1] The body stores fat-soluble antioxidants differently, and the two fractions protect different parts of the cell.

Every Antioxidant Class Found in Kakadu Plum

Australian Government lab scans found over 100 compounds in Kakadu plum.[1] Its total phenolics measured 158.6mg per gram of dried fruit, about 16% of the fruit by weight, with other studies finding 14% to 15%.[1][4] That antioxidant power comes from five distinct families of antioxidant compounds working together.

Vitamin C: 7,253mg per 100g dried fruit

Vitamin C is both a nutrient and an antioxidant. As an antioxidant, it neutralises free radicals directly and regenerates vitamin E after vitamin E has donated an electron. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) approves the wording: “Vitamin C contributes to cell protection from free radical damage.”[3]

Kakadu plum contains 7,253mg of vitamin C per 100g of dried fruit, the Government’s 2009 figure and the highest of every fruit, herb and spice it tested. Our own powder, on our independent lab certificate, measures 12,100mg per 100g: gram for gram, 240 times the vitamin C of a fresh orange. One 500mg capsule delivers 60mg of vitamin C, more than the adult recommended daily intake of 45mg.[1][2] Kakadu plum vitamin C, and the highest vitamin C foods →

Vitamin E: 6.1mg per 100g, the highest of the fruits tested

Vitamin E (98% of it alpha-tocopherol, 5.97mg per 100g) is a fat-soluble antioxidant that protects cell membranes. It works alongside vitamin C: vitamin E neutralises free radicals in fatty environments like cell walls, and vitamin C then regenerates vitamin E so it can work again. Vitamin E contributes to cell protection from free radical damage.[3]

Kakadu plum contains 6.1mg of vitamin E per 100g, the highest of the fruits the Government study tested, described as “comparable to Hass avocado”.[1] Vitamin E foods, ranked →

Tannins: 11 named compounds, plus one unique to this fruit

Tannins are the largest group of plant antioxidants by weight in Kakadu plum. A 2022 study of Northern Territory fruit named 11 specific tannins:[4]

• Corilagin: 1.6 to 1.8g per 100g dried fruit, the most plentiful tannin in the fruit
• 3,4,6-tri-O-galloyl-glucose: about 1.0 to 1.4g per 100g, the second most plentiful
• Ellagic acid: about 0.65 to 0.73g per 100g in the free form; 2.8 to 3.4g in total across its different forms
• Punicalagin: also found in pomegranate
• Castalagin, geraniin, elaeocarpusin, chebulagic acid, chebulinic acid, chebulic acid and helioscopin B
• Terminalagin: a tannin named in a 2024 paper, which appears to be unique to Kakadu plum[5]

The tannins are highest in young fruit and drop as it ripens.[4]

Gallic acid, the building block from which ellagic acid and most of the other tannins are formed, is one of the two main polyphenols alongside ellagic acid.[4] For all 11 named tannins, the pomegranate connection and the urolithin story, see our Kakadu plum tannins page.

Flavonoids: quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, resveratrol

The 2009 Government report identified quercetin or hesperetin glucoside and kaempferol or luteolin glycoside, totalling approximately 3.9mg per gram of dried fruit.[1][6]

A 2025 Griffith University analysis identified further compounds including quercetin, rutin, luteolin, vitexin, resveratrol and resveratrol glucoside. Resveratrol belongs to the stilbene family.[7]

The same Griffith analysis of Kakadu plum extract also named trimethyl ellagic acid, punicalin, ethyl gallate, gallocatechin and pyrocatechol glucuronide in the tannin family, the stilbenes pentahydroxystilbene and combretastatin, and two phenolic acids, protocatechuic acid and chlorogenic acid.[7]

Lutein and chlorophyll

Lutein is a carotenoid antioxidant. Kakadu plum contains 1.52mg per 100g, more than Hass avocado (0.6 to 1.05mg).[1]

Total chlorophyll is 19.49mg per 100g (chlorophyll a 15.91mg, chlorophyll b 3.58mg), the source of the fruit’s green colour, and it accounts for part of the fat-soluble 26.5% of Kakadu plum’s total antioxidant power.[1]

What Survives Digestion

A food’s antioxidant score in a lab test is measured on the extract. The question that matters is what survives digestion and absorption.

A 2022 study modelled Kakadu plum through digestion: approximately 93% of the vitamin C survived, and ellagic acid came through at 33% to 48%.[8]

University of Queensland research in 2024 found that gut microbes break the large tannins into smaller metabolites that showed higher antioxidant activity in the lab than the original compounds.

How to Get More Antioxidants From Food

Eat a wide range of coloured plant foods every day. The Victorian Government’s Better Health Channel advises getting antioxidants from a varied diet of fruit, vegetables, nuts, wholegrains and legumes, rather than from high-dose single supplements.[10]

• Add herbs and spices generously: a teaspoon of cinnamon (about 2.6g) carries about as much antioxidant power as 100g of strawberries.
• Choose berries, nuts with their skins on, and dark chocolate over milk chocolate.
• Drink tea and coffee, which are among the biggest antioxidant sources in most diets.[9]
• For a concentrated whole food, Kakadu plum carries vitamin C, vitamin E, tannins, flavonoids and lutein together.

Why Our Capsules Contain the Whole Fruit, Seed and All

Most Kakadu plum products use only the dried fruit flesh. Ours uses whole fruit powder: fruit and seed kernel together. Grinding the seed to the same fine, smooth powder as the fruit, with no grit, costs more and takes more work. We do it because the numbers are worth it.

The published data proves it: the seed holds more than the fruit in 7 of 8 minerals, including:

• Zinc: 6.0mg per 100g in the seed, 10 times more than the fruit flesh (0.57mg)
• Copper: 2.5mg per 100g in the seed, 8 times more than the fruit flesh (0.30mg)
• Manganese: 9.1mg per 100g in the seed, 2.6 times more than the fruit flesh (3.5mg)
• Iron: 6.1mg per 100g in the seed, 50% more than the fruit flesh (4.0mg)

These minerals are cofactors your body uses in the same antioxidant and cell protection processes as vitamin C and vitamin E. That is why we keep the seed: the whole fruit, seed and all, gives you more than either part alone. Most processors discard it. See the full seed breakdown →

Read the full nutrient profile on our Kakadu plum nutrition page, the collagen cofactors on our collagen page, and the vitamin E data on our vitamin E page.

Questions People Ask About Antioxidant Rich Foods

What food is highest in antioxidants?

Dried spices are highest by weight, led by cloves, then dried amla, peppermint, allspice and cinnamon, in a study of more than 3,100 foods. Among fruit, the Australian Kakadu plum stands out in the Australian Government’s 2009 antioxidant tests.

Which fruit is the most powerful antioxidant?

Kakadu plum is one of the most powerful antioxidant fruits measured: the Australian Government found 10.5 times the FRAP score of blueberry, 5.7 times its ORAC score and 4.7 times its polyphenols. In the large Carlsen study, dried amla and wild rose hips ranked highest among the fruits it tested.

Which fruit is the king of antioxidants?

There’s no official king. Blueberry is the fruit most research uses as the antioxidant benchmark, and in the Australian Government’s tests Kakadu plum beat it on every antioxidant measure, with five families of antioxidants working together.

What is the top 1 antioxidant food?

Cloves, at 277.3mmol per 100g dried, topped one of the largest antioxidant studies ever run. For a food you eat by the serve rather than the pinch, dried berries, walnuts and dark chocolate lead that study.

What are 6 superfoods that have more antioxidants than blueberries?

In the Carlsen study of more than 3,100 foods, six foods measured far more antioxidants per 100g than fresh strawberries (2.1): dried amla, dried rose hips, dried bilberries, walnuts, dark chocolate and pecans. Spices such as cloves and cinnamon score higher again.

What drink is high in antioxidants?

Coffee, red wine, pomegranate juice and green tea are the drinks highest in antioxidants: brewed coffee measured 2.5mmol per 100g in the Carlsen study, pomegranate juice 2.1 and green tea 1.5. Orange juice measured 0.64.

What is the strongest antioxidant in the body?

Glutathione is the main antioxidant the body makes itself, inside every cell. From food, vitamin C protects the watery parts of cells and vitamin E protects the fatty membranes, and each helps the other keep working.

What are the top 5 most powerful antioxidants ever?

There’s no official list, but five of the most studied antioxidants are vitamin C, vitamin E, polyphenols such as ellagic acid, carotenoids such as lutein, and glutathione. Kakadu plum carries four of the five: vitamin C, vitamin E, ellagic acid and lutein, among over 100 compounds found in the fruit.

How can I raise my antioxidant levels?

Eat a wide variety of coloured plant foods every day, use herbs and spices generously, and choose berries, nuts, dark chocolate, tea and coffee. A concentrated whole food like Kakadu plum adds vitamin C, vitamin E and tannins in one serve.

What is FRAP and what does 10.5 times blueberry mean?

FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) measures the total electron-donating capacity of a food. Antioxidants work by donating an electron to a free radical, neutralising it, and FRAP gives a single number for the combined reducing power of everything in the food at once. A score of 10.5 times blueberry means that, gram for gram, Kakadu plum has that much more reducing power than blueberry, which is itself one of the highest-antioxidant everyday fruits.

What antioxidants are in Kakadu plum?

Five families: vitamin C, vitamin E, tannins (11 named, plus terminalagin, found only in Kakadu plum so far), flavonoids such as quercetin and resveratrol, and the fat-soluble pigments lutein and chlorophyll, among over 100 compounds found in the fruit.

Why do tannins matter as antioxidants?

Tannins are polyphenols that readily donate electrons to free radicals, and they are the largest group of antioxidants by weight in Kakadu plum, led by corilagin.

Is vitamin C an antioxidant?

Yes. Vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant: it neutralises free radicals directly and helps regenerate vitamin E. Vitamin C contributes to cell protection from free radical damage.

Why does your Kakadu plum powder include the seed?

Because the seed holds more than the fruit in 7 of 8 minerals, including zinc, copper, manganese and iron, the cofactors that work alongside vitamin C and vitamin E. The whole fruit, seed and all, gives you more than either part alone.

Our products are food, not therapeutic goods, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition.

References

1. Konczak I, Zabaras D, Dunstan M et al. Health Benefits of Australian Native Foods. RIRDC (Australian Government) Pub. No. 09/133, Sept 2009.
2. Accredited Australian laboratory. Certificate of Analysis: Terminalia ferdinandiana Whole Fruit Powder. 12,100mg/100g ascorbic acid (HPLC).
3. Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Standard 1.2.7: Nutrition, Health and Related Claims.
4. Phan ADT et al. Hydrolysable tannins of wild-harvested Terminalia ferdinandiana fruit. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022. PMC9372433.
5. Terminalagin, a New Ellagitannin from Kakadu Plum. PubMed 41391874.
6. Bobasa EM et al. Nutritional and Functional Properties of Terminalia ferdinandiana Fruits. Foods, 2024. PMC11431513.
7. Cock IE, Matthews B, Basson AE. LC-MS Metabolomic Analysis of Terminalia ferdinandiana Extracts. Molecules, 2025. PMC12029459.
8. Akter S et al. In vitro Bioaccessibility of Bioactive Compounds in Terminalia ferdinandiana. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022. PMC8828953.
9. Carlsen MH et al. The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide. Nutrition Journal, 2010.
10. Better Health Channel, Victorian Government: Antioxidants.