Durian: tested for sugar, untested for nearly everything else

Durian has a reputation built on its smell and on its potassium, and the tested part of it is small. In a randomized crossover test in 10 healthy Malaysian adults, a portion holding 50 g of available carbohydrate gave a glycemic index of 49 plus or minus 5, which sits in the low range and well under pineapple at 82 plus or minus 4. Each food was tested once in those ten people, and the authors warn that the answer depends on how accurate the composition tables behind it are. A second randomized crossover, in 16 young healthy Chinese adults, compared a 367.5 calories portion of durian against the same calories of banana. Durian lowered blood pressure and raised triglycerides over the three hours after eating and banana did not. The published abstract gives the direction only, with no effect size and no confidence interval, and it covers one meal rather than a habit. The potassium figure everyone repeats, 436 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) against 358 mg for banana and 303 mg for jackfruit, comes from neither trial. It is a composition number quoted by the authors of a case report, who cite other sources and name no variety, ripeness or season. That same potassium is also where the only documented harm on this page sits, in people whose kidneys cannot clear it, and it is set out at the end.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• The authors of the 2021 case report state that 3.5 oz (100 g) of durian flesh contains 436 mg of potassium, above banana at 358 mg and jackfruit at 303 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g). — not a measurement in patients, a composition figure quoted by the case report authors Evidence D source
  436 mg potassium per 3.5 oz (100 g) durian flesh versus 358 mg for banana and 303 mg for jackfruit

What it does to your health

• In a randomized cross-over trial in 16 healthy adults, a 367.5 calories portion of durian lowered blood pressure and raised triglycerides over the 3 hours after eating, while an isocaloric banana portion did not. — 16 young healthy Chinese adults (8 men, 8 women), single 367.5 calories portion, 3 h postprandial follow-up, washout at least 5 days (n = 16) Evidence B source
  Lower blood pressure and higher triglycerides over 3 h versus isocaloric banana, direction only, no effect size or CI in the abstract
• In a randomized crossover test in 10 healthy adults, a 50 g available carbohydrate portion of durian gave a glycemic index of 49 +/- 5, which falls in the low range. — 10 healthy Malaysian adults (5 women, 5 men, BMI 21.18 +/- 1.7 kg/m2), single 50 g available carbohydrate portion, 2 h postprandial glucose (n = 10) Evidence B source
  Glycemic index 49 +/- 5 against glucose reference, incremental AUC 124 +/- 13 mmol x min/L, lower than pineapple 82 +/- 4 at p<0.05

What people believe that the data does not support

• The EU register holds no claim for durian itself, and the nearest authorized wording relevant to its blood pressure reputation is the potassium claim POL-HC-6445. — EU food labeling, general population Evidence E source
  Authorized wording only, no quantity of durian and no effect size attached

Who this works differently for

• A 79-year-old woman whose kidney function was acutely impaired after several days of diarrhea reached a serum potassium of 8.1 mmol/L with junctional bradycardia after eating a large amount of durian. — one 79-year-old woman with hypertension, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes, acute kidney injury after gastroenteritis (n = 1) Evidence D source
  Serum potassium 8.1 mmol/L, eGFR 18.7 mL/min/1.73 m2, heart rate 40 beats per minute, normalized within 3 days on medical treatment without dialysis
• A woman with end stage renal failure developed life threatening hyperkalemia after eating durian, reported as a single case in Malaysia. — one woman with end stage renal failure (n = 1) Evidence D source
  Life threatening hyperkalemia after durian intake, no potassium value in the abstract
• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements states that in people whose kidneys cannot clear potassium, because of chronic kidney disease or of ACE inhibitors and potassium-sparing diuretics, even potassium intakes below the Adequate Intake can cause hyperkalemia. — adults with chronic kidney disease or taking ACE inhibitors or potassium-sparing diuretics Evidence E source
  Hyperkalemia possible below the Adequate Intake, no threshold given

What is still unknown

• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements reports that no Tolerable Upper Intake Level was set for potassium, because the committee found no evidence that high potassium intakes cause hyperkalemia or other adverse effects in adults with normal kidney function. — adults with normal kidney function Evidence E source
  No Tolerable Upper Intake Level exists for potassium

The bottom line

This page shows no separate safety section, so the caution is collected here. Two case reports describe severe hyperkalemia after durian in people whose kidneys were already failing. A 79-year-old woman with acute kidney injury after several days of diarrhea reached a serum potassium of 8.1 mmol/L and a heart rate of 40 beats per minute, and she recovered within three days on medical treatment without dialysis. How much durian she ate was recorded only as a large amount. A second report, from Malaysia, describes life threatening hyperkalemia in a woman with end stage renal failure, and its abstract gives no potassium value. Each of those is one patient. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements says the same thing in general terms. In people who cannot clear potassium, because of chronic kidney disease or of ACE inhibitors and potassium-sparing diuretics, even intakes below the Adequate Intake can cause hyperkalemia, and the agency names no threshold in grams. For adults with normal kidney function that same agency set no Tolerable Upper Intake Level for potassium at all, having found no evidence that high potassium intakes cause hyperkalemia or other adverse effects in that group. That records what the committee decided. It does not establish a safe amount. The European register holds no claim for durian by name, and the nearest authorized wording is the general potassium claim about maintaining normal blood pressure, which carries no quantity of fruit and no effect size. Most of this page is missing. We found no study of how anything in durian is absorbed, nothing on what ripeness, freezing or cooking change, no United States survey portion for it, and nothing on children or pregnancy.

Compared with other foods

Sources

1. dur-daily-r5-04 · case report narrative
   Durian also is rich in potassium where 100 g of durian flesh contain 436 mg of potassium, which makes it one of the highest potassium contain fruit, followed by banana and jackfruit, which both contain 358 and 303 mg in 100 g, respectively.
   SAGE Open Med Case Rep, 2021 · checked 2026-09-25
2. dur-daily-r5-01 · randomized cross-over trial
   This randomized cross-over clinical study recruited 16 young, healthy Chinese participants (8 males and 8 females). All participants ingested isocaloric portion (367.5 kcal) of durian and banana with a wash-out period of at least 5 days. ... Durian induced a higher and longer-lasting TEF than banana in most participants. Additionally, durian significantly lowered BP and increased triglyceride (TG) levels during 3 h after consumption, whereas bananas had no significant effects on these measures.
   J Am Nutr Assoc, 2025 · checked 2026-09-25
3. dur-daily-r5-02 · glycemic index trial
   Ten (10) healthy volunteers (5 females, 5 males; body mass index 21.18+/-1.7 kg/m2) consumed 50 g of available carbohydrate portions of glucose (reference food) and four test foods (durian, papaya, pineapple and watermelon) in random order after an overnight fast. ... Similarly, the glycemic index of pineapple, 82+/-4, was significantly greater than those of papaya, 58+/-6, watermelon, 55+/-3, and durian, 49+/-5 (p<0.05).
   Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2008 · checked 2026-09-25
4. dur-daily-r5-08 · claim register entry
   POL-HC-6445 Potassium Potassium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood pressure Authorised
   EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-6445, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-09-25
5. dur-daily-r5-03 · case report
   A 79-year-old woman with hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus presented with lethargy and palpitation for 1 day duration. ... Upon further history, she reported taking a large amount of durian fruit for the past few days despite having multiple episodes of diarrhoea. ... Initial blood investigation revealed severe hyperkalaemia with the potassium of 8.1 mmol/L in the background of impaired kidney function
   SAGE Open Med Case Rep, 2021 · checked 2026-09-25
6. dur-daily-r5-05 · case report
   Patients with end stage renal failure are more prone to get hyperkalaemia as potassium is normally excreted via the kidneys. ... We describe a case of life threatening hyperkalaemia in a lady with end stage renal failure who ate durians prior to her presentation.
   Med J Malaysia, 2011 · checked 2026-09-25
7. dur-daily-r5-06 · agency fact sheet
   However, in people with impaired urinary potassium excretion due to chronic kidney disease or the use of certain medications, such as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or potassium-sparing diuretics, even dietary potassium intakes below the AI can cause hyperkalemia.
   NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Potassium Fact Sheet for Health Professionals · checked 2026-09-25
8. dur-daily-r5-07 · agency fact sheet
   In addition, there is no evidence that high intakes of potassium cause hyperkalemia in adults with normal kidney function or other adverse effects. Therefore, the committee did not set a UL for potassium.
   NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Potassium Fact Sheet for Health Professionals · checked 2026-09-25