Camu Camu

Camu camu (Myrciaria dubia) is a small shrub native to the Amazon floodplains of Peru and Brazil. Its fruit, a tart purple-red berry, holds the highest natural concentration of vitamin C of any food — up to 3% ascorbic acid by weight, which is roughly 60 times that of oranges. Indigenous Amazonian communities have used camu camu for centuries as both food and medicine. In skincare, the ingredient is a natural vehicle for vitamin C plus a bouquet of polyphenols (ellagic acid, anthocyanins, flavonoids) that extend the antioxidant profile beyond a single molecule. That's the case for whole-fruit camu camu vs. pure ascorbic acid: you get built-in synergy from the co-occurring compounds. The catch is delivery. Whole-fruit powder extracts tend to be less biologically available than standardized pharmaceutical-grade ascorbic acid, so the actual skin-surface antioxidant dose from a 'camu camu serum' can vary wildly by brand. Brazilian clean beauty brands (Principia, Simple Organic, Natura Ekos) have built their brightening stories around camu camu specifically because of its provenance. It also fits into a Brazilian-origin catalog gap that currently leans heavily on oils and butters (açaí, cupuaçu, andiroba) rather than vitamin C sources. Evidence rating 3 because the hero compound (vitamin C) is extensively validated, but camu camu as a whole extract has less dermatology-specific trial data.