Orange and tangerine: a difference that lives in the tables

The firmest evidence on this page is not about eating either fruit. A 2025 meta-analysis of randomised trials found that hesperidin, a flavanone both fruits carry, lowered fasting glucose, triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol and systolic pressure, mostly in trials longer than 12 weeks and at doses above 500 mg a day. Its abstract reports those directions without the size of a single pooled effect, and 500 mg is a capsule dose. A controlled diet built around a glass of orange juice, half an orange and half a mandarin every day supplied 132 mg. For the fruit itself, what exists is composition. We found no trial and no cohort that compares eating oranges with eating tangerines, so the whole difference between them sits in the tables. Per 100 g the USDA SR Legacy entry for raw orange holds 53.2 mg vitamin C and 116 micrograms beta-cryptoxanthin, and the tangerine entry holds 26.7 mg and 407 micrograms. The orange is the vitamin C fruit. The tangerine is the one that carries the provitamin A carotenoid, although at 34 against 11 micrograms RAE per 100 g neither fruit is a large source of vitamin A itself.

How much is actually in it

• Per 100 g in the USDA SR Legacy tables, a raw orange gives 53.2 mg vitamin C, 30 micrograms folate and 116 micrograms beta-cryptoxanthin. A tangerine gives 26.7 mg vitamin C, 16 micrograms folate and 407 micrograms beta-cryptoxanthin, so the orange wins on vitamin C and the tangerine on provitamin A. — Oranges, raw, all commercial varieties (FDC 169097) and Tangerines, (mandarin oranges), raw (FDC 169105), USDA SR Legacy (n = 2 dataset entries) Evidence E source
  Orange vs tangerine per 100 g: energy 47 vs 53 kcal; vitamin C 53.2 vs 26.7 mg; folate 30 vs 16 ug; beta-cryptoxanthin 116 vs 407 ug; beta-carotene 71 vs 155 ug; vitamin A 11 vs 34 ug RAE; fibre 2.4 vs 1.8 g; potassium 181 vs 166 mg; calcium 40 vs 37 mg

What a real portion looks like

• In US dietary survey portions one orange weighs 154 g and one tangerine 109 g. At USDA values a whole orange delivers about 82 mg vitamin C and a whole tangerine about 29 mg, while the tangerine still delivers about two and a half times the beta-cryptoxanthin per fruit. — Orange, raw (FNDDS 61119010, FDC 2709171) and Tangerine, raw (FNDDS 61125010, FDC 2709175), US household measures (n = 4 + 4 portion measures) Evidence E source
  Orange: 1 fruit 154 g, 1 section 15 g, 1 cup 180 g. Tangerine: 1 fruit 109 g, 1 section 11 g, 1 cup 195 g. Per fruit at SR Legacy values: vitamin C 82 vs 29 mg; beta-cryptoxanthin 179 vs 444 ug

What your body absorbs

• In 135 lactating Bangladeshi women with low vitamin A status, 3 weeks of tangerines giving 5.3 mg beta-cryptoxanthin a day raised plasma beta-cryptoxanthin by 830%, an apparent absorption 4 times that of beta-carotene from sweet potato, yet neither food raised vitamin A in breast milk. — 135 lactating women with low vitamin A status in Bangladesh, randomised to 4 groups (n 34, 34, 34, 33), foods eaten twice a day, 6 days a week for 3 weeks (n = 135) Evidence B source
  Plasma beta-cryptoxanthin +830% (tangerine group) vs plasma beta-carotene +250% (sweet potato group); apparent relative absorption of beta-cryptoxanthin 4 times that of beta-carotene; milk vitamin A change 0.067 vs 0.028 umol/L, not different from control
• After a single meal of 234 g of canned tangerines, plasma beta-cryptoxanthin in 11 healthy adults rose within 5 hours and stayed high for the 24 hours measured, while beta-carotene and lycopene from a matching citrus meal did not move. — 8 healthy non-smoking adults (study 1) and 11 (study 2), each eating tangerine and pink grapefruit meals in random order as their own controls (n = 11) Evidence B source
  Plasma beta-cryptoxanthin increased within 5 hours and remained elevated through 24 hours; plasma lycopene and beta-carotene unchanged after a similar citrus meal

What cooking and storage change

• In the UK CoFID tables, fresh orange flesh gives 52 mg vitamin C, 33 micrograms folate and 1.7 g fibre per 100 g, whereas mandarin segments canned in juice give 20 mg vitamin C, 12 micrograms folate and 0.3 g fibre. Total sugars barely differ, 8.2 against 7.7 g. — Oranges, flesh only (CoFID 14-327) and Mandarin oranges, canned in juice, whole contents (CoFID 14-146), UK (n = 2 dataset entries) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: vitamin C 52 vs 20 mg; folate 33 vs 12 ug; NSP fibre 1.7 vs 0.3 g; total sugars 8.2 vs 7.7 g; potassium 122 vs 85 mg; carotene 55 vs 95 ug; energy 36 vs 32 kcal

What it does to your health

• In a double-blind trial of 31 adults with cedar-pollen conjunctivitis, 2 weeks of yogurt containing mandarin orange (a source of nobiletin) lowered challenge-induced redness scores to 1.03 versus 1.28 and itching to 1.93 versus 2.82 compared with plain yogurt. — 31 patients with proven seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (mean age 32.5), double-blind placebo-controlled, conjunctival allergen challenge; plus an open 26-patient before-after arm (n = 31) Evidence B source
  Mandarin yogurt vs control yogurt: redness 1.03 vs 1.28 (P 0.0156), itching 1.93 vs 2.82 (P 0.0133), conjunctival temperature rise 0.54 vs 0.31 C (P under 0.001)

Safety, limits and interactions

• A reported case of anaphylaxis to mandarin showed IgE to the lipid transfer proteins of both mandarin (Cit r 3) and orange (Cit s 3), so a person allergic to one of these fruits can react to the other. — One adult woman with anaphylaxis after eating mandarin, Belgium; specific IgE, skin prick and basophil activation tests (n = 1) Evidence C source
  Sensitisation to mandarin Cit r 3 and orange Cit s 3 lipid transfer proteins and to orange germin-like Cit s 1, confirmed by skin test and basophil activation

What people believe that the data does not support

• A 2025 meta-analysis of randomised trials found hesperidin supplements lowered fasting glucose, triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol and systolic pressure, mainly in trials longer than 12 weeks and at doses above 500 mg a day. That is a supplement dose rather than what oranges or tangerines provide. — Adults in randomised controlled trials of hesperidin supplementation, literature to August 2023, GRADE-assessed Evidence A source
  Significant reductions in FBS, TG, TC, LDL-C, SBP and TNF-alpha; no effect on insulin, HOMA-IR, QUICKI, HDL-C, DBP or hs-CRP; subgroups: over 12 weeks effective for FBS, TG, TC, LDL-C; over 500 mg/day for FBS, TC, LDL-C. Pooled sizes not given in the abstract

What is still unknown

• Across 8 USDA Foundation samples each, navel oranges held 52 to 66 mg vitamin C per 100 g (mean 59.1) and seedless mandarins 9 to 27 mg (mean 21.2). The fruits differ more than either varies, while potassium and calcium are the same in both. — Oranges, raw, navels and Mandarin, seedless, peeled, raw (USDA Foundation Foods), 8 analysed samples each (n = 8 + 8 samples) Evidence E source
  Vitamin C: navel orange mean 59.1 mg, range 51.8 to 65.6, spread 23%; mandarin mean 21.2 mg, range 8.78 to 27.3, spread 87%. Folate navel orange 25.0 ug, range 8.0 to 68.0, spread 240%. Potassium 166 vs 167 mg; calcium 43.0 vs 44.0 mg
• In 37 women on a controlled 5-week diet that included one glass of orange juice, half an orange and half a mandarin daily, plasma hesperetin rose from 12 to 325 nmol/L. It was detectable in only 54% of samples, so blood levels are a poor guide to how much citrus a person eats. — 37 healthy women, strictly controlled crossover diets: 5 weeks high in fruit and vegetables (132 mg hesperetin, 29 mg naringenin daily) vs 5 weeks low with no citrus, 3-week washout (n = 37) Evidence B source
  Plasma hesperetin 12.2 nmol/L after low-vegetable diet vs 325 nmol/L after high-vegetable diet; naringenin under 73.5 to 112.9 nmol/L; hesperetin detectable in 54% and naringenin in 22% of samples after the high diet

The bottom line

A whole orange in US survey portions weighs 154 g and a tangerine 109 g, which works out at roughly 82 mg vitamin C for the orange against 29 mg for the tangerine, and about 179 against 444 micrograms of beta-cryptoxanthin. Those per-fruit figures come from arithmetic on the 100 g table rather than from weighing an actual fruit, and a small clementine or a large navel will miss them. The table is itself an average of a handful of samples. Across eight analysed USDA Foundation samples each, navel oranges ran from 51.8 to 65.6 mg vitamin C per 100 g and seedless mandarins from 8.78 to 27.3 mg, so the weakest mandarin in that set carried about a sixth of what the strongest orange carried. Folate in those eight oranges spread from 8 to 68 micrograms, so treat any single folate figure for citrus loosely. The tangerine carotenoid does reach the blood. In 135 lactating Bangladeshi women with low vitamin A status, three weeks of tangerines supplying 5.3 mg beta-cryptoxanthin a day raised plasma beta-cryptoxanthin by 830 percent, about four times the apparent absorption of beta-carotene from sweet potato, and vitamin A in breast milk still did not rise. Those women began low on vitamin A, and the trial says nothing about a well-fed adult. In a second study 11 healthy adults ate a single 234 g meal of canned tangerines, and their plasma beta-cryptoxanthin rose within five hours and stayed up for the 24 hours measured. The fruit there was canned, and we found no single-meal study of fresh oranges to set beside it. In 37 women on a controlled five-week diet that included citrus, plasma hesperetin rose from 12 to 325 nmol/L, and it was detectable in only 54 percent of samples, so blood levels are a weak guide to how much citrus a person eats. That diet fed orange and mandarin together, so it cannot say which fruit did the work. Canning changes the fruit. UK CoFID lists fresh orange flesh at 52 mg vitamin C, 33 micrograms folate and 1.7 g fibre per 100 g. Mandarin segments canned in juice come in at 20 mg, 12 micrograms and 0.3 g, while total sugars barely differ, 8.2 against 7.7 g. CoFID has no fresh mandarin entry, so that row mixes the fruit with peeling, membrane removal and canning, and it cannot be read as one fruit losing to the other. One mandarin trial did reach a clinical endpoint. In 31 adults with cedar pollen conjunctivitis, two weeks of yogurt containing mandarin orange lowered challenge-induced redness to 1.03 against 1.28 in the plain-yogurt group, and itching to 1.93 against 2.82. Those are scores after a laboratory allergen challenge, not symptoms through a pollen season. The product was a yogurt, and the trial was small, short and run at a single Japanese centre. The one caution card here is a single case report. A Belgian woman had anaphylaxis after eating mandarin and carried IgE to the lipid transfer proteins of both mandarin and orange, which means a person who reacts to one of these fruits can react to the other. One case shows that the cross-reaction is possible and says nothing about how common citrus allergy is. This page has no card about medicines, pregnancy or children for either fruit, so on those questions it has nothing to tell you. It also has no card on the safety of hesperidin supplements at the doses those trials used, so the 500 mg figure describes what was tested and is not a dose to take.

Sources

1. otg-c3-01 · reference dataset
   169097 Oranges, raw, all commercial varieties | Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 53.2 MG | Folate, total 30.0 UG | Cryptoxanthin, beta 116 UG | Vitamin A, RAE 11.0 UG | Fiber, total dietary 2.4 G || 169105 Tangerines, (mandarin oranges), raw | Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 26.7 MG | Folate, total 16.0 UG | Cryptoxanthin, beta 407 UG | Vitamin A, RAE 34.0 UG | Fiber, total dietary 1.8 G
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (release April 2019), FDC 169097 and 169105 · checked 2026-09-23
2. otg-c3-04 · reference dataset
   Orange, raw · FNDDS 61119010 · fdc_id 2709171 | 1 fruit 154 g | 1 section/slice 15 g | 1 cup 180 g || Tangerine, raw · FNDDS 61125010 · fdc_id 2709175 | 1 fruit 109 g | 1 section/slice 11 g | 1 cup 195 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 · checked 2026-09-23
3. otg-c3-05 · RCT
   Participants were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n = 34, 34, 34, and 33, respectively) receiving orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSPs) (12 mg BC/d), tangerines (5.3 mg CX/d), white-fleshed sweet potatoes (WFSPs) with a VA supplement (0.5 mg/d), or WFSPs 2 times/d, 6 d/wk for 3 wk...Plasma BC in the OFSP group and CX in the tangerine group increased 250% and 830%, respectively; apparent relative absorption in the CX group, considering the amounts consumed, was 4 times that in the BC group.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2013 · checked 2026-09-23
4. otg-c3-06 · RCT crossover
   The second study compared changes in plasma carotenoid concentration caused by feeding 234g of tangerines or 540g of pink grapefruit to 11 subjects...Plasma β-cryptoxanthin concentrations increased within 5hours and then stabilized, remaining high throughout the 24hours measured. Plasma concentrations of lycopene and β-carotene did not change.
   Nutr Res, 2016 · checked 2026-09-23
5. otg-c3-03 · reference dataset
   14-327 Oranges, flesh only | Vitamin C (mg) 52 | Folate (ug) 33 | NSP (g) 1.7 | Total sugars (g) 8.2 | Potassium (mg) 122 || 14-146 Mandarin oranges, canned in juice, whole contents | Vitamin C (mg) 20 | Folate (ug) 12 | NSP (g) 0.3 | Total sugars (g) 7.7 | Potassium (mg) 85
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England / OGL v3.0 · checked 2026-09-23
6. otg-c3-09 · RCT
   Experiment 2 was a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial performed on 31 patients (age, 32.5 ± 12.2 years)...In experiment 2, the scores of redness (1.03 ± 0.18 vs. 1.28 ± 0.52; P = 0.0156), itching (1.93 ± 1.92 vs. 2.82 ± 2.21; P = 0.0133), and surface temperature (0.54 ± 0.21°C vs. 0.31 ± 0.25°C; P < 0.001) were significantly lower in the mandarin orange yogurt group than in the control yogurt group.
   Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 2017 · checked 2026-09-23
7. otg-c3-10 · case report
   Specific IgE levels and IgE immunodetection data indicated the patient's sensitization to orange (Cit s 3) and mandarin (Cit r 3) lipid transfer protein allergens, as well as to germin-like (Cit s 1) allergen.
   Int Arch Allergy Immunol, 2007 · checked 2026-09-23
8. otg-c3-08 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   The results of this study demonstrate that hesperidin supplementation had a significant impact on reducing FBS, TG, TC, LDL-C, SBP, and TNF-α. However, there was no significant effect observed on insulin, HOMA-IR, QUICKI, HDL-C, DBP, and hs-CRP. The study's subgroup analyses also revealed that interventions lasting more than 12 weeks were effective in reducing FBS, TG, TC, and LDL-C. Moreover, hesperidin dosage exceeding 500 mg/day showed significance in reducing FBS, TC, and LDL-C levels.
   Nutr Rev, 2025 · checked 2026-09-23
9. otg-c3-02 · reference dataset
   Oranges, raw, navels | Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 59.1 MG, range 51.8-65.6 (median 58.0), 8 samples, spread 23% | Folate, total 25.0 UG, range 8.0-68.0 (median 17.0), 8 samples, spread 240% | Potassium, K 166.0 MG | Calcium, Ca 43.0 MG || Mandarin, seedless, peeled, raw | Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 21.2 MG, range 8.78-27.3 (median 22.2), 8 samples, spread 87% | Potassium, K 167.2 MG | Calcium, Ca 43.96 MG
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 · checked 2026-09-23
10. otg-c3-07 · controlled clinical trial, crossover
    The high-vegetable diet provided various fruits and vegetables daily including on average one glass of orange juice, one-half orange and one-half mandarin...The mean plasma hesperetin concentration increased from 12.2 nmol/l after the low-vegetable diet to 325 nmol/l after the high-vegetable diet...After the high-vegetable diet, hesperetin and naringenin were detectable in 54 and 22% of all samples.
    Eur J Clin Nutr, 2002 · checked 2026-09-23