Vitamin C Content of Selected Foods


Like primates, guinea pigs require dietary vitamin C. Guinea pig treats should not only be high in vitamin C, but also low in calcium, carbohydrates and sugars, and high in dietary fiber (*).

gpigs Kale Rochelle Hartman

Guinea pigs share a bite of the vitamin-C rich vegetable, kale. Photo credit: Rochelle Hartman via Flickr Creative Commons.

As the degree of freshness varies with market conditions, so can the vitamin C content. Tosun found that the highest vitamin C levels were detected in local open markets while the lowest vitamin C levels were seen in green grocery samples.

The following chart shows the maximum vitamin C content in 1 cup of selected raw foods:

Produce Weight (grams) Vitamin C (mg)
Guava 165 376.7
Currants, black 112 202.7
Peppers, sweet red 149 190.3
Brussels sprouts 88 173.0
Parsleya 60 140.0
Broccoli leaf n/a 120.0
Peppers, sweet green 149 119.8
Strawberries 166 97.6
Orange 180 95.8
Grapefruit n/a 93.9
Scotch kale 67 87.1
Papaya 140 86.5
Dill weed 100 85.0
Kohlrabi 135 83.7
Kale a 67 80.4
Lambs quarters 100 80.0
Broccoli 88 78.5
Pineapple 155 74.1
Grapefruit, pink and red 230 71.8
Passion-fruit (Granadilla), purple 236 70.8
Kiwifruit (Chinese gooseberries) 76 70.5
Broccoli florets* 71 66.2
Breadfruit 220 63.8
Snowpeas 98 58.8
Cantaloupe melon 160 58.7
Green peas 145 58.0
Green cauliflower 64 56.4
Pineapple 155 56.1
Tangerines (mandarin oranges) 195 52.1
Mulberries 140 51.0
Cauliflower 100 46.4
Cauliflower 100 46.4
Mango 165 45.7
Gooseberries 150 41.5
Cabbage, red 70 39.9
Mustard greens* 56 39.2
Starfruit (Carambola) 108 37.2
Rutabaga 140 35.0
Turnip greens* 55 33.0
Raspberries 123 32.2
Honeydew melon 170 30.6
Blackberries 144 30.2
Cabbage 70 25.6
Tomatoes, red 180 22.9
Parsnips 133 22.6
Loganberries n/a 22.5
Cabbage, savoy 70 21.7
Zucchini 124 21.1
Okra 100 21.1
Prickly pear 149 20.9
Dandelion greens* 55 19.3
Squash, summer 113 19.2
Green snap beans 110 17.9
Cherimoya n/a 17.9
Grapes, red or green 160 17.3
Radish 116 17.2
Plum 165 15.7
Blueberries 145 14.1
Mung beans, mature seeds, sprouted 104 13.7
Lettuce, romaine 56 13.4
Cranberries 110 13.3
Banana 150 13.1
Watermelon 152 12.3
Peaches 170 11.2
Beet greens 38 11.4
Swiss chard 36 10.8
Spinacha 30 8.4
Cucumber with peel 301 8.4
Broccoli raab (Rapini) 40 8.1
Amaranth leaves 193 8.1
Nectarine 143 7.7
Dill weed 9 7.4
Carrots 110 6.5
Taro n/a 4.7
Apples, without skin 110 4.4
Boysenberries n/a 4.1
Celery 120 3.7
Endive 50 3.3
Sweet potato 133 3.2
Cucumber, with peel 104 2.9
Alfalfa seeds, sprouted 33 2.7
Lettuce, iceberg 55 1.5
Cilantro 16 1.1

a: Parsley and spinach are also rich in oxalates so offer these vegetables only sporadically to reduce the risk of calcium oxalate bladder stone formation.

References

References

Guinea Lynx: A medical care guide for guinea pigs. Available at http://www.guinealynx.info/index.html. Accessed on October 4, 2009.

NutritionData. Available at http://www.nutritiondata.com/. Accessed on October 4, 2009.

Tosun BN, Yucecan S. Influence of home freezing and storage on vitamin C contents of some vegetables. Pakistan J Nutr 6(5):472-477, 2007.

United States Department of Agriculture. USDA National Nutrient Database: Vitamin C, ascorbic acid (mg) content of selected foods per common measure. Available at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR21/nutrlist/sr21w401.pdf. Accessed on October 4, 2009.

To cite this page:

Pollock C. Vitamin C content of selected foods. March 13, 2010. LafeberVet Web site. Available at https://lafeber.com/vet/vitamin-c-content-of-selected-foods/