ORAC is an acronym that stands for 'oxygen radical absorbance capacity.' Berries have some of the highest ORAC values of fruits.

ORAC Antioxidant Values of certain herbs and foods
Please note that different labs may measure these ORAC values differently and each batch of an herb, fruit, or vegetable could have a slightly or moderately different ORAC value based on ripeness, soil, season it is grown, and other factors. The ORAC values listed below are approximations. Do not base your decision to buy or take supplements purely on ORAC value, there are many other factors to consider regarding the benefits or side effects of the various compounds within herbs.

Sign up to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Twice a month we email a brief abstract of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics -- including ORAC value information -- and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Orac Value per 100 grams
Cacao beans, Cocoa powder and dark chocolate have very high ORAC values
Blueberries 8700
Raspberries 5300
Cranberry 5200
Cherries 4700
Walnuts 3400
Prunes 3200
Milk Chocolate 1700
Almonds 1300
Raisins 1200
Mangosteen - as of June 2007, we have not seen any independent studies to determine the ORAC value of mangosteen.
Tea - Decaffeinated teas have an ORAC value about 500 to 800 while regular tea has an ORAC value of 700 to 1600.

Is ORAC Value that important?
As consumers hear more about the concept of ORAC value, they may give more importance to this value than perhaps justified. There is some reason to place less importance on ORAC values for these reasons: There is no industry standard for measuring ORAC values; marketers may overinflate the ORAC value of their supplements (and this could happen more often than consumers think, don't take the word of the supplements sellers as gospel); different growing and harvesting conditions, including the season and temperature, influence the ORAC value of a particular plant by as much as fourfold: ORAC value can be influenced by how the plant material is dealt with, for instance cooking, freezing, and storage.

Q. i read your article about orac values and was a bit confused. could you give me the orac values of those products in terms of trolox equivalents per g instead of per serving so i can actually compare them? the serving size is so arbitrary sometimes. what i am looking for is a good comparison of supplements out there: mangosteen, goji, purple corn, bilberry, elderberry, blueberry, grape seed extract, green tea extract, etc. if i know their orac values i may be able to balance my intake better.
   A. There are many beneficial substances in plants and herbs that have no relation to their ORAC value. It is simplistic to think one can know the ideal diet or supplement use by ORAC value alone. Many herbs, in addition to their antioxidant properties, have an influence on other aspects of health, for better or worse. For instance, goji berries have a high antioxidant value, but if too high a dose is taken of the supplement, it could cause alertness and shallow sleep. By preventing deep sleep, high doses of goji could actually be harmful. Another example is cocoa. The high amounts of caffeine or theobromines may cause anxiety or disturb sleep patterns and could actually worsen health when misused, or consumed in the evening. Rather than going out of one's way to add up, count, and balance ORAC values, one should focus on ingesting a wide variety of beneficial plants and herbs. Each has its one's benefit outside of its ORAC value. At this time we don't know the Trolox equivalent of the listed herbs and foods above.

ORAC Dosage Recommendations
The USDA recommeds an ORAC unit ingestion of about 3,000 to 5,000 units daily.

ORAC Value Research - ORAC Assay
Effect of ascorbic acid and dehydration on concentrations of total phenolics, antioxidant capacity, anthocyanins, and color in fruits.
J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Jun 1;53(11):4444-7. Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid Jordan.
The purpose of this investigation was to report on the total phenolics, anthocyanins, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC testing) of strawberry, peach, and apple, the influence of dehydration and ascorbic acid treatments on the levels of these compounds, and the effect of these treatments on fruit color. Results showed that fresh strawberry had the highest levels for total phenolics [5317.9 mg of chlorogenic acid equivalents (CAE)/kg], whereas lower levels were found in fresh apple and peach (3392.1 and 1973.1 mg of CAE/kg, respectively), and for anthocyanins (138.8 mg/kg), whereas lower levels were found in fresh apple and peaches (11.0 and 18.9 mg/kg, respectively; fresh strawberry had an ORAC value of 62.9 mM/kg Trolox equivalents. The fresh apple and peach were found to have ORAC values of 14.7 and 11.4 mM/kg of Trolox equivalents, respectively. The color values indicated that the addition of 0.1% ascorbic acid increased the lightness (L) and decreased the redness (a) and yellowness (b) color values of fresh strawberry, peach, and apple, sliced samples, and the puree made from them. Also, results showed that dehydration is a good method to keep the concentrations of total phenolics and anthocyanins and ORAC values at high levels.

Antioxidant capacity of vegetables, spices and dressings relevant to nutrition.
Br J Nutr. 2005 Feb;93(2):257-66.
Vegetables are the most important sources of phenolics in the Mediterranean diet. Phenolics, especially flavonoids, are suggested as being essential bioactive compounds providing health benefits. In this study, twenty-seven vegetables, fifteen aromatic herbs and some spices consumed in Central Italy (the Marches region) were studied to reveal total phenolic, flavonoid and flavanol content as well as their antioxidant capacity measured by the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) method. A comparison in terms of antioxidant capacity was made between different salads, as well as between salads to which aromatic herbs had been added. Lemon balm and marjoram at a concentration of 1.5 % w/w increased by 150 % and 200 % respectively the antioxidant capacity of a salad portion. A 200 g portion of a salad enriched with marjoram corresponded to an intake of 200 (SD 10) mg phenolics and 4000 (SD 300) ORAC units (micromol Trolox equivalents). Olive oils and wine or apple vinegars were the salad dressings that provided the highest increase in antioxidant capacity. Among the spices tested, cumin and fresh ginger made the most significant contribution to the antioxidant capacity. The results are useful in surveying the antioxidant parameters of vegetables, herbs and spices produced and consumed in our geographical area as well as in quantifying the daily intake of phenolics and ORAC units. The results can be used in public health campaigns to stimulate the consumption of vegetables able to provide significant health protection in order to prevent chronic diseases.

ORAC value emails
Q. What are the glycemic index and the ORAC value of mangosteen juice?
   A. We don't know about the glycemic index. Many of the mangosteen juices on the market have other fruit juices mixed with the mangosteen. We have not seen any good studies on the ORAC value of mangosteen by independent laboratories. ORAC value is only a minor part of the overall value of a supplement.

Q. Hello, thank you so much for your website that is very resourceful... and it feels like you really want to help and educate and not only sell, sell, sell. Which fruit juice is more powerful with regards to overall health benefit and it's antioxident level, the Mangosteen or the Acai Berry. The orac scores indicate that 1 gram of Acai berry is 3800 orac value and the Mangosteen is 17,000 orac value, but I do not know what amount of Mangosteen they used to come up with that value. Do you know which fruit contains higher antioxident level?
     A. Although people seem to focus on ORAC values, there are many other substances in herbs and plants that have beneficial effects. I prefer alternating the use of different herbs and not to rely on just one. For instance, one can have several different good herbal supplements, and each day take a different one. Some of the ones that come to mind include acai berry, cocoa, curcumin, goji berry, graviola, green tea extract, mangosteen, and pomegranate. This way benefits from the various herbs can be taken advantage of and the body is exposed to a variety of helpful substances without overdosing. We searched Medline for " ORAC value mangosteen "and could not find any such information regarding the testing of mangosteen. Perhaps there are such studies and if there are, we would appreciate someone pointing it out to us.

Q. How much total orac value should one ingest a day from supplements?
   A. The answer to this is not known. The ideal total orac value obtained each day is very difficult to assess and not practical. Rather than focusing on orac value, and counting the numbers, one should rather focus on ingesting a wide range of fruits and vegetables in their diet.

Q. Respected Dr, Sahelian, I am a regular reader of your articles and research papers. How one can prove the increased ORAC Value after consumption of Antioxidants in a very simple way? Is there any way to prove this rather than routine and complicated blood chemistry studies?
   A. I am not aware of any clear way to tell except through blood chemistry tests that are not commonly available at doctors' office and require the sample to be send to special labs testing for levels of several antioxidant systems. This is not practical and necessary. One should rather focus on eating a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Q. I am a Food Scientist working independently in the food industry. I am interested in building a product that takes advantage of ORAC and cocoa. I have been doing some research, have read some literature but I am somewhat confused about the ORAC values of cocoa vs. dark chocolate. Therefore, my question is: How can dark chocolate (which is any where from 60% to 80% cocoa) have an ORAC value higher than cocoa (which is 100% cocoa)?
   A. Cacao bean is the source of cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter. Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the cacao bean from which chocolate is made. Cocoa can often also refer to cocoa powder, the dry powder made by grinding cocoa seeds and removing the cocoa butter from the dark, bitter cocoa solids; or it may refer to the combination of both cocoa powder and cocoa butter. The results of various ORAC values regarding dark chocolate and cocoa may depend on how the dark chocolate was made or how the cocoa powder was processed to make it cocoa powder. Different products and different labs may come up with different ORAC values.

Q. I am very interested in routinely (monthly) measuring / tracking my blood antioxidant level.
   A. I do not seen any clinical value in knowing one's ORAC value through blood studies

Q. I am not interested in using a mangosteen juice but in capsules mainly consisting of the pericarp. In view of this, I would appreciate to have more information on the mangosteen product provided by you, e.g. on the orac value per pill, etc. Looking at some of the products available on the market I was struck by the exceptional high orac value attributed to a product which, according to ayurceutics, would have been obtained though an extraction process with water and alcohol. Since xanthones are not well soluble in water. I have been wondering whether the high orac value of 2150 would be completely due to the products derived from the pericarp.
   A. We have not done ORAC values on our mangosteen product. We think ORAC values are overrated and do not give a true picture of the benefits of a product. Xanthones act in a variety of ways besides antioxidants. The are anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, etc. Relying mostly on antioxidant values misses the overall influence of these substances on the organs and tissues of the body. .

oxygen radical absorbance capacity