Tangerines: one pigment absorbed well, and little shown beyond it

A tangerine is a modest source of vitamin C and an unusually good carrier of one pigment. One fruit of about 109 g gives 29 mg of vitamin C. The pigment is beta-cryptoxanthin, an orange carotenoid the body can turn into vitamin A, and tangerines deliver it well. In breastfeeding women in Bangladesh with low vitamin A status, three weeks of daily tangerines raised it in the blood by 830 percent, and it appeared to be absorbed about four times as well as beta-carotene from orange sweet potato. The same trial also found the limit. Vitamin A in breast milk did not rise on tangerines, and it did rise on a small vitamin A capsule. Most of what you read about tangerines and health rests on something narrower than the fruit in your bowl. The two small trials that tested a health effect gave mandarin mixed into yogurt or as a drink. The heart and liver findings come from one Japanese town where Satsuma mandarins are grown and eaten every day. They are observational: people who ate more, or had more of the pigment in their blood, did better, and that does not show the fruit caused it. The two pooled analyses measured the pigment in diet or blood, never tangerines as such, and found no clear link with stomach cancer or type 2 diabetes.

The numbers, per 100 g

How much is actually in it

• Raw tangerine has 26.7 mg vitamin C per 100 g in USDA data, and the 4 USDA tangerine records (raw and canned) range from 19.8 to 34.2 mg. — USDA SR Legacy tangerine records, no Foundation sampling (n = 4 records) Evidence E source
  Vitamin C 26.7 mg/100 g raw, 19.8-34.2 mg across records, fibre 0.7-1.8 g

What a real portion looks like

• One tangerine weighs about 109 g and gives 29 mg of vitamin C, a cup of sections 195 g gives 52 mg, and a 248 g glass of 100% tangerine juice 73 mg. — US household measures, FNDDS (n = FNDDS 5,432 foods) Evidence E source
  1 fruit 109 g 29.1 mg, 1 cup 195 g 52.1 mg, 1 section 11 g 2.9 mg, juice 248 g 72.9 mg vitamin C

What your body absorbs

• In lactating Bangladeshi women with low vitamin A status eating tangerines with 5.3 mg beta-cryptoxanthin a day for 3 weeks, plasma beta-cryptoxanthin rose 830%, and apparent relative absorption was 4 times that of beta-carotene from orange sweet potato. — 135 lactating Bangladeshi women with low vitamin A status, 4 arms of about 34, 6 days a week for 3 weeks (n = 135) Evidence B source
  Plasma beta-cryptoxanthin +830% (tangerine arm) vs plasma beta-carotene +250% (sweet potato arm), apparent relative absorption 4x

What cooking and storage change

• In 8 and 11 healthy adults, one meal of 234 g canned tangerines raised plasma beta-cryptoxanthin within 5 hours and kept it high for 24 hours. — healthy non-smoking adults, 8 in study 1 and 11 in study 2, single meals of canned tangerines or pink grapefruit in random order (n = 19) Evidence B source
  Plasma beta-cryptoxanthin up within 5 h and stable to 24 h, lycopene and beta-carotene unchanged

What it does to your health

• In 31 people with cedar pollen allergy, 2 weeks of mandarin orange yogurt lowered itching scores after an eye allergen challenge (1.93 vs 2.82) compared with plain yogurt. — 31 patients with seasonal allergic conjunctivitis, 2 weeks of yogurt with or without mandarin orange (n = 31) Evidence B source
  Itching 1.93 vs 2.82 (P = 0.0133), redness 1.03 vs 1.28 (P = 0.0156)
• In a Japanese cohort of 635 adults, eating 3-4 Satsuma mandarins a day was linked with lower risk of developing arterial stiffness than eating fewer than 1 a day. — 635 residents of Mikkabi, Japan, followed 2003-2013, where Satsuma mandarin is widely eaten (n = 635) Evidence C source
  Lower hazard of high brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity at 3-4 mandarins a day vs under 1 a day
• In the same Japanese mandarin-growing cohort, people in the top third of serum beta-cryptoxanthin had about half the risk of developing raised liver enzyme ALT over 7.4 years (HR 0.51). — 787 adults aged 30-79 free of raised ALT at baseline, Mikkabi cohort, mean follow-up 7.4 years (n = 787) Evidence C source
  HR 0.51 (95% CI 0.27 to 0.94), top vs bottom tertile of serum beta-cryptoxanthin
• In 17 obese postmenopausal women, a Satsuma mandarin drink with 4.7 mg beta-cryptoxanthin a day for 3 weeks raised serum beta-cryptoxanthin 4-fold without changing body weight. — 17 moderately obese postmenopausal Japanese women, 3 weeks (n = 17) Evidence C source
  Serum beta-cryptoxanthin 4-fold, HMW adiponectin up, PAI-1 down, weight and BMI unchanged

Safety, limits and interactions

• A 2025 pooled analysis of pesticide residue data in Iran flagged tangerine as one of 2 foods with a non-cancer hazard quotient above 1. — published residue measurements for foods sold in Iran (n = -) Evidence D source
  Average hazard quotient above 1.0 for tangerine and onion
• FDA warns that Seville oranges, pomelos and tangelos may interact with drugs like grapefruit juice, and ordinary tangerines are not on that list. — people taking drugs affected by grapefruit juice (n = -) Evidence E source
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Who this works differently for

• In breastfeeding women with low vitamin A status, 3 weeks of daily tangerines did not raise vitamin A in breast milk, while a 0.5 mg vitamin A capsule did. — lactating Bangladeshi women with low vitamin A status, about 34 per arm, 3 weeks (n = 135) Evidence B source
  Milk vitamin A change 0.067 umol/L (tangerine) vs -0.077 (control) vs 0.277 (vitamin A capsule), tangerine not different from control
• A 12-year-old girl had exercise-induced anaphylaxis after eating Satsuma mandarin, and skin tests showed cross-reactivity with orange, grapefruit, lemon and other citrus. — one 12-year-old girl in Japan (n = 1) Evidence D source
  Positive skin prick tests to the 7 other citrus fruits named (orange, grapefruit, lemon, yuzu, sudachi, ponkan, iyokan), no further reactions after citrus avoidance

What is still unknown

• Pooled observational studies found no clear link between beta-cryptoxanthin, the main tangerine carotenoid, and gastric cancer (case-control OR 0.88, cohort RR 0.86, both crossing 1). — 35 publications, 23 case-control and 12 cohort studies (n = 35 studies) Evidence C source
  Case-control OR 0.88 (0.75 to 1.04), cohort RR 0.86 (0.64 to 1.16)
• Across 13 prospective studies, dietary beta-cryptoxanthin showed no significant association with type 2 diabetes risk, unlike beta-carotene (RR 0.78). — 13 publications of prospective observational studies (n = 13 studies) Evidence C source
  No association for dietary beta-cryptoxanthin, beta-carotene RR 0.78 (0.70 to 0.87)

The bottom line

Eat tangerines because they are easy to peel and you like them. Canned mandarin segments count too. In a small crossover trial, one meal of 234 g of canned tangerines raised blood beta-cryptoxanthin within 5 hours and kept it high for 24. The vitamin C figure depends on the form. Across the four USDA tangerine records, raw and canned, it runs from 19.8 to 34.2 mg per 100 g, so that range mixes fresh fruit with canned packs and says little about how much one fresh fruit varies. A glass of 100 percent tangerine juice gives 73 mg against 29 mg in one whole fruit, but the glass weighs 248 g and the fruit 109 g. Per 100 g that is about 29 mg for the juice and 26.7 mg for the fruit, so the gap comes from the bigger serving. The health findings are worth reading at their real size. In 31 people with cedar pollen allergy, two weeks of mandarin yogurt lowered eye itching after an allergen challenge, 1.93 against 2.82 on plain yogurt. That is one small trial, and nobody has repeated it yet, so it is too early to eat tangerines for hay fever. In 17 obese women after menopause, a Satsuma mandarin drink raised blood beta-cryptoxanthin fourfold in three weeks and body weight did not change. That study had no comparison group, so the other blood changes it reported cannot be pinned on the drink. In the Japanese cohort, 3 to 4 mandarins a day went with less arterial stiffening than under one a day, and people with the most beta-cryptoxanthin in their blood had about half the risk of a raised liver enzyme over 7.4 years (HR 0.51). The people who eat that many mandarins may differ in plenty of other ways, and neither finding comes from a trial. If you are breastfeeding and low in vitamin A, talk to your doctor, because in the Bangladesh trial only the capsule moved the vitamin A in milk. Citrus allergy is the clearest caution we have. A 12-year-old girl in Japan had exercise-induced anaphylaxis after eating Satsuma mandarin, and her skin tests also reacted to orange, grapefruit, lemon and four other citrus fruits. One case cannot say how common this is, but it does show that reacting to one citrus fruit can mean reacting to others, which is a question for an allergist. On medicines, the FDA warns that Seville oranges, pomelos and tangelos might act like grapefruit juice, and a tangelo is part tangerine. Plain tangerines are simply not named on that list, and we have no card that tested them. If a medicine you take carries a grapefruit warning, ask your pharmacist before you add tangelos. Beyond that, the safety record here is thin. Our one other card is a 2025 analysis of published pesticide residue data from Iran, which put tangerine among 2 foods with a hazard quotient above 1. A hazard quotient above 1 means the estimated intake of residues went past the level the authors count as acceptable in their risk model. It does not mean anyone was harmed. That describes produce sold there, and we have no matching data for other markets. We found nothing on an upper limit, on eating large amounts, or on pregnancy and young children beyond that single allergy case, and this part of the page stays open.

Sources

1. tang-b4-13 · reference dataset
   FDC 169105 Tangerines, (mandarin oranges), raw: Vitamin C 26.7 mg/100 g · across 4 records 19.8-34.2 mg · Fiber 1.8 g (0.7-1.8)
   USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy · checked 2026-09-23
2. tang-b4-14 · reference dataset
   FNDDS 2709175 Tangerine, raw: Vitamin C 26.7 mg/100 g · 1 fruit 109 g 29.1 mg · 1 cup 195 g 52.1 mg · 1 section/slice 11 g 2.9 mg · FNDDS 2709193 Tangerine juice, 100%: 248 g 72.9 mg
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 · checked 2026-09-23
3. tang-b4-01 · randomised controlled trial
   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. tang-b4-03 · randomised crossover trial
   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. tang-b4-04 · randomised controlled trial
   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
6. tang-b4-05 · prospective cohort
   Serum concentrations of β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene were higher in people who ate Satsuma mandarin frequently. Compared with <1/d intake of Satsuma mandarin, 3-4/d was associated with a low risk of high PWV.
   Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2016 · checked 2026-09-23
7. tang-b4-06 · prospective cohort
   the hazard ratios for elevated serum ALT in the highest tertiles of basal serum β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and total provitamin A carotenoids against the lowest tertiles were 0·43 (95 % CI 0·22, 0·81), 0·51 (CI 0·27, 0·94) and 0·52 (CI 0·28, 0·97), respectively.
   Br J Nutr, 2016 · checked 2026-09-23
8. tang-b4-09 · uncontrolled clinical trial
   Serum β-cryptoxanthin levels increased significantly by 4-fold. Serum high molecular weight (HMW)-adiponectin levels increased significantly, while serum plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 levels decreased.
   Lipids Health Dis, 2012 · checked 2026-09-23
9. tang-b4-11 · residue risk assessment
   Based on the average HQs, two foodstuffs (onion and tangerine) and two pesticides (haloxyfop-R-methyl and cyhalothrin) exhibited unacceptable non-cancer risk (>1.0).
   Food Chem Toxicol, 2025 · checked 2026-09-23
10. tang-b4-12 · agency position
    Seville oranges (often used to make orange marmalade), pomelos, and tangelos (a cross between tangerines and grapefruit) might have the same effect as grapefruit juice.
    U.S. FDA Consumer Update, Grapefruit Juice and Some Drugs Don't Mix (content current as of 07/01/2021) · checked 2026-09-23
11. tang-b4-02 · randomised controlled trial
    The greater change in CX concentrations in the tangerine group than in BC concentrations in the OFSP group suggests that CX in tangerines was better absorbed, but both foods failed to increase milk VA concentrations.
    Am J Clin Nutr, 2013 · checked 2026-09-23
12. tang-b4-10 · case report
    Because the SPT results for other citrus fruits (including orange, grapefruit, lemon, yuzu, sudachi, ponkan, and iyokan) were all positive, it was suggested that these fruits demonstrate cross-reactivity with each other.
    Arerugi, 2017 · checked 2026-09-23
13. tang-b4-07 · meta-analysis of observational studies
    beta-cryptoxanthin (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.75-1.04) and lycopene (OR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.73-1.00) showed no significant correlation
    BMC Gastroenterol, 2024 · checked 2026-09-23
14. tang-b4-08 · meta-analysis of cohort studies
    whereas no significant associations were observed for β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene.
    Adv Nutr, 2021 · checked 2026-09-23