Camu Camu Berry (Myrciaria dubia) Standardized Extract Powder 20% Vitamin C, 100 kg (220 lbs): RF
Other common names: Cacari, Camocamo, Bayberry Fruit, Mirto, Murta, Guayabillo, Coco-Carette, Merisier-Cerise, Escobillo, Bois de Basse Batard, Cabo de Chivo, Mije, Mije Colorado, Mijo, Shahuinto If you think vitamin C is helpful for building the immune system, warding off infections, colds and flu, then Camu Camu is the herb for you. A gift from the Amazon rainforest, Camu Camu provides more vitamin C than any known botanical on earth! Its ascorbic acid helps to support the brain and nervous system, improve skin, enhance blood circulation, decrease cholesterol levels, help lower the incidence of blood clots in veins and fortify blood vessel walls. History: Camu Camu is a shrub (or bushy riverside tree) that is native to the Amazon rainforest, and its current range comprises Amazon lowland regions of Venezuela, Peru and Brazil (most notably), as well as Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. Camu Camu fruit has only recently come into large-scale cultivation and sale to the world market with Japan as the major buyer, where it is very highly regarded for its vitamin C content. It is also frozen or bottled as a health juice. Camu Camu is exported from Peru to the United States for the production of ”vitamin C” tablets for the ”health food” market. It is the extraordinarily rich supply of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in Camu Camu that is considered the most important factor in its positioning on international markets. Closely related to the Rumberry-Guavaberry (Myrciaria floribunda), the plant produces young branchlets with prickly hairs and narrow, opposite-growing, lanceolate-to-elliptical-shaped, feathery leaves. The smallish tree, which may reach a height of fifteen feet, bears sweetly-fragrant flowers with tiny, white, waxy petals and a round, cherry-like fruit that is yellow at first, becoming maroon to purple-black. The fruit, with its yellow pulp, is soft and juicy when ripe and is of acid/sweet flavor. Each fruit contains three seeds. The bushy shrub grows in hot, damp tropics, and it fruits during the rainy season. As a matter of fact, it thrives in lakes, swamps and on riversides, frequently with the base and lower branches of the tree submerged in water for months. Interestingly, the fruit is harvested in the wild by boat (usually canoe). In plantations, in a non-flooded environment, a single plant may bear four- to five-hundred fruits. However, on flooded land, the per-plant harvest has reached one thousand fruits. Long used in herbal medicine by the native practitioners in the Amazon rainforest, documentation of Camu Camu’s traditional use is scant; furthermore, there has been very little modern clinical research conducted or published concerning the medicinal or therapeutic properties of the herb. Although edible and very high in vitamin C, it is unlikely that the fruit has ever been nutritionally relevant as a staple, since its aroma is not as inviting as other fruits, and it is not particularly tasty. Camu Camu is extremely