More powerful than ordinary fruit! Able to protect against multiple health issues in a single blossom! Superfruits are known as highly nutritious, highly antioxidant and, usually, exotic species that are suspected of reducing risk and development of various diseases and disorders, as well as resist the march of aging. As a foil for the promise, the science of superfruits is still infant and vague, as is the definition of what constitutes such a botanical superhero. Still, the market is swooning over these superfruits, and manufacturers have responded with new ingredients and finished superfruit products in many different segments, from supplements to foods and personal care.
“Although there is no scientific verification for what is and is not a superfruit,” said Rick Jackson, Ultra Laboratories, “we would consider a superfruit to be any fruit that has ‘significantly above average’ nutritive value in the form of antioxidants or other unique compounds.” He explained superfruits contain a wide variety of active constituents, many of which have not yet been chemically identified. “Therefore, it would be difficult to give a comprehensive ‘superfruit active ingredient’ list,” he said.
Paul M. Gross, Ph.D., University of Glasgow, Scotland, has reported finding 36 different fruits marketed as superfruits. Among these are açaí, pomegranate, mangosteen, goji berry, noni, sea buckthorn, lingonberry and camu camu.
In its latest flavors report, market research firm Mintel dubbed cupuaçu, the latest in a line of Amazon fruits, as the next big superfruit in 2010. While related to the cacao tree, cupuaçu does not contain caffeine. It does contain more than 10 vitamins and antioxidants, as well as essential fatty acids (EFAs) and amino acids, and it has already been used in a mainstream applesauce. Mintel’s Lynn Dornblaser, in a recent Webinar for Natural Products Marketplace’s sister publication, InsideCosmeceuticals.com, reported Artic gooseberry, acerola (cherry), yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) and Indian gooseberry (alma) are superfruits to watch for in the personal care segment.
Sensient flavors also made some 2010 predictions, listing caja fruit (Brazil), Cape gooseberry (South Africa), lulo (South America), kumquat (China), maqui (South America), marula fruit (Southern Africa), umbu fruit (Brazil) and more berry (Columbia) as probable top-ten flavors over the next six to 18 months—a list dominated by exotic fruits, some (maqui) already considered “super.”
These fruits might be winning over consumers with promise and exotic appeal, but what makes them more healthful or “super” than traditional fruits like apples? Well-known nutrition researcher Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., director of the USDA Antioxidant Research Lab at Tufts University, told the Los Angeles Times recently, “I hate that term 'superfruit,' like your [fruit] is somehow wearing the cape. There's no evidence that one type of fruit is better for you than any other variety. They're all good.”
Along this line of thought, some marketers are positioning other less exotic fruits in the superfruit category, based on their potent levels of antioxidants and other beneficial active constituents. These deputized fruits include grapes/resveratrol, tart cherry, papaya, black currant, blueberry and cranberry.