ORAC LEVELS

The subject of ORAC is more complex than most people realize. The letters ORAC are an acronym for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. What happens in the marketplace is often quite misleading as we find that different units of measure are quoted with little or no fine print defining these units. Also there are a number of different ORAC tests which measure different types of antioxidant activity. For this reason we always show a general chart without units of measure simply expressing ratio. This gives an honest expression of the power of goji compared to other fruits.

We are often asked how goji compares to other superfruits like acai or even green tea for example. This requires an explanation of the different types of antioxidant chemistry relating to the classes of compounds known as bioflavenoids, carotenoids, anthocyanins,polyphenols and many others. A good discussion of this subject can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant.

For the measurement of antioxidant activity we have found the best testing to be done by Brunswick Laboratories. They present an overview of this subject matter at http://www.brunswicklabs.com/overview_antioxidants.shtml.

To clarify the nonsense on the internet about the famous quote regarding goji having 500 times more Vitamin C than oranges, we must tell you that it is simply not true. It is the carotenoid family of compounds including astaxanthin and zeaxanthan that give the goji much of its ORAC power.