Nutrient table · IFCT 2017 · ICMR-NIN 2020

Vitamin C content of Indian foods

Per 100 g, amla is the richest vitamin C source in IFCT 2017 at 252 mg, followed by guava at 214 mg, black currants at 182 mg and karonda at 135 mg. Among vegetables, capsicum gives 123 mg and agathi leaves 121 mg. With ICMR-NIN 2020 setting 80 mg a day for men and 65 mg for women, 100 g of amla or guava covers the day more than twice over.

01The nutrient

What vitamin c does, and where Indian diets stand

Vitamin C is needed to make collagen, the protein that holds skin, gums, blood vessels and healing wounds together. It acts as an antioxidant, supports normal immune function, and helps the gut absorb iron from plant foods, which matters greatly in a largely vegetarian country. The body cannot make it or store much of it, so it needs a fresh supply most days.

Indian kitchens have excellent sources close at hand, from amla and guava to green chillies, lemon and leafy greens, but much of the vitamin is lost before the food is eaten. Vitamin C dissolves in water and breaks down with heat, air and time, so long boiling, reheating and cutting vegetables hours ahead all cost a share. Raw salads, fresh chutneys and whole fruit keep it best.

This table ranks the 130 foods in IFCT 2017 with a vitamin C value, per 100 g. Indian fruits lead: amla, guava, karonda and ber, along with black currants. Leafy greens and vegetables follow, including parsley, capsicum, agathi, drumstick leaves, raw mango and green chillies. Grains, pulses, nuts, oils, meat and fish carry little or none.

02The full table

All 130 foods ranked by vitamin c

Per 100 g of the edible portion, highest first. The last two columns show the share of an adult's daily need that 100 g covers.

Indian foods ranked by vitamin c per 100 g
Rank	Food	Group	Per 100 g	Man's daily need	Woman's daily need
1	Amla (Indian gooseberry)	Fruits	252 mg	315%	388%
2	Guava	Fruits	214 mg	268%	329%
3	Currants	Fruits	182 mg	228%	280%
4	Karonda	Fruits	135 mg	169%	208%
5	Parsley	Green leafy vegetables	133 mg	166%	205%
6	Capsicum	Vegetables and mushrooms	123 mg	154%	189%
7	Agathi leaves	Green leafy vegetables	121 mg	151%	186%
8	Drumstick leaves (moringa)	Green leafy vegetables	108 mg	135%	166%
9	Ponnaganni	Green leafy vegetables	103 mg	129%	158%
10	Raw mango	Vegetables and mushrooms	90.2 mg	113%	139%
11	Brussels sprouts	Green leafy vegetables	89.5 mg	112%	138%
12	Amaranth leaves (chaulai)	Green leafy vegetables	83.5 mg	104%	128%
13	Amaranth spinosus	Green leafy vegetables	82.6 mg	103%	127%
14	Chillies (green and red)	Spices, herbs and condiments	79.5 mg	99%	122%
15	Drumstick (moringa pods)	Vegetables and mushrooms	71.9 mg	90%	111%
16	Knol-khol leaves	Green leafy vegetables	71.1 mg	89%	109%
17	Radish leaves	Green leafy vegetables	65.8 mg	82%	101%
18	Rambutan	Fruits	65 mg	81%	100%
19	Knol-khol (kohlrabi)	Vegetables and mushrooms	64.7 mg	81%	100%
20	Basella leaves	Green leafy vegetables	63.4 mg	79%	98%
21	Ber (Indian jujube)	Fruits	60.9 mg	76%	94%
22	Mustard leaves (sarson)	Green leafy vegetables	60.3 mg	75%	93%
23	Soursop	Fruits	59.5 mg	74%	92%
24	Fenugreek leaves (methi)	Green leafy vegetables	58.2 mg	73%	90%
25	Manila tamarind (jungle jalebi)	Fruits	55.8 mg	70%	86%
26	Pak Choi leaves	Green leafy vegetables	55.6 mg	70%	86%
27	Rumex leaves	Green leafy vegetables	53.8 mg	67%	83%
28	Cauliflower leaves	Green leafy vegetables	52.8 mg	66%	81%
29	Strawberry	Fruits	50.2 mg	63%	77%
30	Pomelo	Fruits	48.9 mg	61%	75%
31	Lemon (juice)	Fruits	48.2 mg	60%	74%
32	Cauliflower	Vegetables and mushrooms	47.1 mg	59%	72%
33	Sweet lime (mosambi)	Fruits	47 mg	59%	72%
34	Bitter gourd (karela)	Vegetables and mushrooms	46.5 mg	58%	72%
35	Papaya	Fruits	43.1 mg	54%	66%
36	Garden cress leaves	Green leafy vegetables	42.8 mg	53%	66%
37	Orange	Fruits	42.7 mg	53%	66%
38	Bathua leaves	Green leafy vegetables	41 mg	51%	63%
39	Colocasia leaves (arbi patta)	Green leafy vegetables	40.7 mg	51%	63%
40	Green peas (fresh)	Vegetables and mushrooms	38.4 mg	48%	59%
41	Pineapple	Fruits	36.4 mg	45%	56%
42	Beet greens	Green leafy vegetables	35.8 mg	45%	55%
43	Litchi	Fruits	33.8 mg	42%	52%
44	Star fruit	Fruits	33.6 mg	42%	52%
45	Cabbage	Green leafy vegetables	33.2 mg	42%	51%
46	Mango	Fruits	33 mg	41%	51%
47	Spinach	Green leafy vegetables	30.3 mg	38%	47%
48	Gongura (gogu) leaves	Green leafy vegetables	29.6 mg	37%	46%
49	Tamarind leaves	Green leafy vegetables	28.2 mg	35%	43%
50	Tomato	Vegetables and mushrooms	27.5 mg	34%	42%
51	Spring onion	Vegetables and mushrooms	27.2 mg	34%	42%
52	Lotus root (kamal kakdi)	Roots and tubers	26.6 mg	33%	41%
53	Mangosteen	Fruits	26.3 mg	33%	40%
54	Coriander leaves	Spices, herbs and condiments	23.9 mg	30%	37%
55	Plantain (raw banana)	Vegetables and mushrooms	23.3 mg	29%	36%
56	Potato	Roots and tubers	23.2 mg	29%	36%
57	Muskmelon	Fruits	22.8 mg	29%	35%
58	Okra (bhindi)	Vegetables and mushrooms	22.5 mg	28%	35%
59	Wood apple (kaitha)	Fruits	22.2 mg	28%	34%
60	Custard apple (sitaphal)	Fruits	21.5 mg	27%	33%
61	Chikoo (sapota)	Fruits	21 mg	26%	32%
62	Raw papaya	Vegetables and mushrooms	20.7 mg	26%	32%
63	Chow chow (chayote)	Vegetables and mushrooms	20.2 mg	25%	31%
64	Black berry	Fruits	19.4 mg	24%	30%
65	Pointed gourd (parwal)	Vegetables and mushrooms	19.2 mg	24%	30%
66	Betel leaves	Green leafy vegetables	18.4 mg	23%	28%
67	Grapes	Fruits	18.3 mg	23%	28%
68	Cluster beans (gawar)	Vegetables and mushrooms	18 mg	23%	28%
69	Sweet potato	Roots and tubers	17.9 mg	22%	28%
70	Ivy gourd (kundru)	Vegetables and mushrooms	17.6 mg	22%	27%
71	Radish	Roots and tubers	17.6 mg	22%	27%
72	Raw jackfruit	Vegetables and mushrooms	17.5 mg	22%	27%
73	Mint leaves	Spices, herbs and condiments	17.2 mg	22%	26%
74	Fig	Fruits	16.9 mg	21%	26%
75	Jamun	Fruits	16.5 mg	21%	25%
76	French beans	Vegetables and mushrooms	15.8 mg	20%	24%
77	Zucchini	Vegetables and mushrooms	15.8 mg	20%	24%
78	Bamboo shoot	Vegetables and mushrooms	15.7 mg	20%	24%
79	Tapioca (cassava)	Roots and tubers	15.5 mg	19%	24%
80	Yam (suran)	Roots and tubers	15.2 mg	19%	23%
81	Tender red gram (fresh toor)	Vegetables and mushrooms	15.1 mg	19%	23%
82	Tinda (round gourd)	Vegetables and mushrooms	14.2 mg	18%	22%
83	Watermelon	Fruits	13.3 mg	17%	20%
84	Pomegranate	Fruits	12.7 mg	16%	20%
85	Garlic	Spices, herbs and condiments	12.6 mg	16%	19%
86	Celery stalk	Vegetables and mushrooms	12.3 mg	15%	19%
87	Pumpkin leaves	Green leafy vegetables	12.3 mg	15%	19%
88	Lettuce	Green leafy vegetables	11.9 mg	15%	18%
89	Ash gourd (petha)	Vegetables and mushrooms	11.4 mg	14%	18%
90	Broad beans	Vegetables and mushrooms	11 mg	14%	17%
91	Avocado	Fruits	9.4 mg	12%	14%
92	Cherries	Fruits	8.8 mg	11%	14%
93	Baby corn	Vegetables and mushrooms	8.6 mg	11%	13%
94	Bael	Fruits	7.5 mg	9%	12%
95	Pumpkin	Vegetables and mushrooms	7.3 mg	9%	11%
96	Jackfruit (ripe)	Fruits	6.7 mg	8%	10%
97	Onion	Spices, herbs and condiments	6.7 mg	8%	10%
98	Sugarcane	Sugars and natural drinks	6.7 mg	8%	10%
99	Scarlet runner bean	Vegetables and mushrooms	6.6 mg	8%	10%
100	Carrot	Roots and tubers	6.2 mg	8%	10%
101	Cucumber	Vegetables and mushrooms	6.1 mg	8%	9%
102	Curry leaves	Spices, herbs and condiments	6 mg	8%	9%
103	Field beans (fresh pods)	Vegetables and mushrooms	6 mg	8%	9%
104	Peach	Fruits	5.5 mg	7%	8%
105	Ginger	Spices, herbs and condiments	5.4 mg	7%	8%
106	Ridge gourd (turai)	Vegetables and mushrooms	5.4 mg	7%	8%
107	Beet root	Roots and tubers	5.3 mg	7%	8%
108	Water Chestnut	Roots and tubers	5.3 mg	7%	8%
109	Colocasia stem	Vegetables and mushrooms	5.2 mg	7%	8%
110	Phalsa	Fruits	5.1 mg	6%	8%
111	Banana	Fruits	4.8 mg	6%	7%
112	Dates	Fruits	4.4 mg	6%	7%
113	Bottle gourd (lauki)	Vegetables and mushrooms	4.3 mg	5%	7%
114	Apple	Fruits	3.6 mg	5%	6%
115	Tamarind	Fruits	3.6 mg	5%	6%
116	Pear	Fruits	3.3 mg	4%	5%
117	Snake gourd	Vegetables and mushrooms	2.7 mg	3%	4%
118	Plum	Fruits	2.3 mg	3%	4%
119	Brinjal (baingan)	Vegetables and mushrooms	2.1 mg	3%	3%
120	Raisins	Fruits	2.1 mg	3%	3%
121	Milk	Milk and dairy	2 mg	3%	3%
122	Colocasia root (arbi)	Roots and tubers	1.8 mg	2%	3%
123	Mango ginger (amba haldi)	Spices, herbs and condiments	1.6 mg	2%	2%
124	Rice bean	Pulses and legumes	1.1 mg	1%	2%
125	Walnut	Nuts and oilseeds	0.9 mg	1%	1%
126	Almond	Nuts and oilseeds	0.7 mg	1%	1%
127	Coconut water	Sugars and natural drinks	0.6 mg	1%	1%
128	Chicken mushroom	Vegetables and mushrooms	0.5 mg	1%	1%
129	Apricot (dried and processed)	Fruits	0.4 mg	1%	1%
130	Palm fruit (tadgola)	Fruits	0.2 mg	0%	0%

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily needs: ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (brief note).

Cite this page

NNWA Nutrition and Wellness Academy. Vitamin C content of Indian foods. Data: Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. https://nnwa.in/foods/nutrients/vitamin-c/

03Vegetarian sources

The top vegetarian sources of vitamin c

Top vegetarian sources of vitamin c per 100 g
Food	Group	Per 100 g
Amla (Indian gooseberry)	Fruits	252 mg
Guava	Fruits	214 mg
Currants	Fruits	182 mg
Karonda	Fruits	135 mg
Parsley	Green leafy vegetables	133 mg
Capsicum	Vegetables and mushrooms	123 mg
Agathi leaves	Green leafy vegetables	121 mg
Drumstick leaves (moringa)	Green leafy vegetables	108 mg
Ponnaganni	Green leafy vegetables	103 mg
Raw mango	Vegetables and mushrooms	90.2 mg
Brussels sprouts	Green leafy vegetables	89.5 mg
Amaranth leaves (chaulai)	Green leafy vegetables	83.5 mg
Amaranth spinosus	Green leafy vegetables	82.6 mg
Chillies (green and red)	Spices, herbs and condiments	79.5 mg
Drumstick (moringa pods)	Vegetables and mushrooms	71.9 mg

04How much you need

Vitamin C requirements for Indians

ICMR-NIN 2020 sets the recommended vitamin C intake at 80 mg a day for a 65 kg man and 65 mg a day for a 55 kg woman. The estimated average requirements for vitamin C are 65 mg and 55 mg. Smokers and people recovering from illness or surgery may need more, which a doctor can advise on.

These amounts are easy to reach from food. A 100 g serving of amla, guava or capsicum on its own covers a full day, and a mixed diet with a fruit, a raw salad or chutney and a cooked green vegetable usually meets the need without tablets.

05Using the table

From a table to a plate

Values are for raw food, per 100 g. Cooking can destroy a large part of the vitamin C, especially long boiling in open pans and repeated reheating, so a cooked green vegetable delivers less than its raw figure. Pressure cooking, steaming and quick stir-frying keep more. Cut fruit and vegetables just before eating or cooking, and do not soak cut pieces in water. Dried fruits such as dried apricot carry almost none, which is why they sit near the bottom.

Eat one vitamin C fruit a day, such as amla, guava, orange, mosambi, papaya or ber, whole rather than as juice where possible.
Squeeze lemon over dal, poha and sabzi just before serving, which also helps the body take up iron.
Add raw capsicum, tomato, onion and coriander to salads, raita and chaat.
Make amla into chutney or a low-sugar murabba, or simply eat it raw with a pinch of salt.
Cook greens briefly with a lid on, in little water, and avoid reheating them again and again.
Grind green chutney with mint, coriander and green chillies fresh each day rather than storing it for days.

06Questions

What people ask about vitamin c

Which Indian fruit has the most vitamin C?

Amla leads IFCT 2017 at 252 mg per 100 g, followed by guava at 214 mg, black currants at 182 mg and karonda at 135 mg. Ber, rambutan and soursop also carry useful amounts, between 59.5 and 65 mg per 100 g.

How much vitamin C does an adult need per day?

Under ICMR-NIN 2020, adult men need 80 mg of vitamin C a day and adult women 65 mg, with average requirements of 65 mg and 55 mg. A daily fruit and some raw vegetables cover this easily.

Which vegetables are high in vitamin C?

In IFCT 2017, capsicum carries 123 mg per 100 g, raw mango 90.2 mg, Brussels sprouts 89.5 mg, green chillies 79.5 mg and drumstick pods 71.9 mg. Leafy greens such as agathi at 121 mg and drumstick leaves at 108 mg are also strong.

Does cooking destroy vitamin C?

Partly. Vitamin C dissolves in water and breaks down with heat, so boiling and reheating lose the most. Steaming, pressure cooking, quick stir-frying and eating some vegetables raw keep more of it on the plate.

07Keep exploring

Vitamin C content of Indian foods

What vitamin c does, and where Indian diets stand

All 130 foods ranked by vitamin c

The top vegetarian sources of vitamin c

Vitamin C requirements for Indians

From a table to a plate

What people ask about vitamin c

Which Indian fruit has the most vitamin C?

How much vitamin C does an adult need per day?

Which vegetables are high in vitamin C?

Does cooking destroy vitamin C?

Related reading and tables

Vitamin C: Do You Need a 500 mg Tablet, or Will Food Do?

Calories (energy) content of Indian foods

Protein content of Indian foods

Dietary fibre content of Indian foods

Total fat content of Indian foods

Carbohydrate content of Indian foods

Calcium content of Indian foods

Iron content of Indian foods

Zinc content of Indian foods

Magnesium content of Indian foods