Small fruit with thin brown shell enclosing translucent white flesh around a dark seed. One cup provides 119% DV vitamin C, 8% DV copper, 7% DV thiamine, and a significant polyphenol profile including corilagin (anti-cancer) and gallic acid. Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a 'heart tonic' and adaptogen.
Available fresh in summer at Asian markets. Dried and canned year-round. Very affordable dried.
Corilagin — a tannin polyphenol in longan — has been studied for anti-cancer activity against breast and liver cancer cell lines through apoptosis induction. The vitamin C density at 119% DV per cup makes longan one of the highest vitamin C tropical fruits. TCM use as a heart tonic (nourishing the 'shen' — spirit/mind) aligns with the polyphenol profile's cardiovascular and neurological antioxidant activity.
Fresh: crack shell with finger, peel back, eat white flesh around the seed. Dried: a sweet, intensely flavored snack. Canned in syrup at Asian markets. In longan tea.
Free, no account needed to ask.