NutriDex

The Supplement Research Compendium
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Soursop (Graviola)

Annona muricata

Creamy tropical fruit with a neurotoxic caveat

Preliminary evidence 🍎Fruits

✚ Updated · How we grade evidence

Evidence tier
Preliminary
Research weight
Citations
8 verified / 8
Classification
Fruits
❝
What the evidence says. Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive.

Nutrition per serving 1 cup pulp (225 g)

225gSERVING
  • Water 182.6 g82%
  • Sugars 30.5 g14%
  • Fibre 7.4 g3%
  • Protein 2.3 g1%
  • Fat 0.7 g0%
What's in one serving, by weight — average composition (USDA).
Vitamin C52%Fiber26%Potassium13%Magnesium11%Thiamin13%Niacin13%Vitamin B68%
One serving as % of the adult daily requirement (FDA Daily Values). The bold outer ring = 100% of a day's needs.
149 kcal2.3 g protein7.4 g fiber0.7 g fat
NutrientPer serving% daily value
Vitamin C46 mg52%
Fiber7.4 g26%
Potassium626 mg13%
Magnesium47 mg11%
Thiamin0.16 mg13%
Niacin2 mg13%
Vitamin B60.13 mg8%
Copper0.19 mg21%
Iron1.4 mg8%
Phosphorus61 mg5%

Composition data: USDA FoodData Central ↗

What is Soursop (Graviola)?

Soursop (Graviola) (Annona muricata) is a fruit used for vitamin c contribution (good source per serving). NutriDex grades the human evidence as Preliminary. Soursop is a low-fat tropical fruit that is a good source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, but human evidence for its widely marketed health claims is weak. Most "graviola" research is in vitro or in rodents, where leaf and fruit acetogenins show anticancer, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial activity. The only notable human trial is a small (n=28 completers) 8-week randomized placebo-controlled study in resected colorectal-cancer patients, which found greater ex vivo cytotoxicity with leaf extract while maintaining nutritional status, but did not demonstrate clinical outcomes such as survival or tumor regression. Reviews conclude there is no validated effective or safe human dose and that claims of curing cancer are unsupported. Crucially, the same acetogenins (chiefly annonacin) are mitochondrial complex I inhibitors linked epidemiologically to atypical, levodopa-resistant parkinsonism in Guadeloupe and other high-consumption regions, with supporting rodent mechanistic data. Thus the fruit is reasonable as an occasional whole food, but concentrated leaf/seed extracts and heavy daily intake carry a real neurotoxic signal. Overall the weight of human evidence is preliminary.

Purported Benefits

✓Vitamin C contribution (good source per serving)
✓Dietary fiber for digestive health
✓Potassium contribution
✓Anticancer / cytotoxic activity (lab and one small RCT, no clinical outcomes)
✓Antihypertensive / vasodilatory activity (animal only)
✓Antidiabetic / hypoglycemic and antimicrobial activity (mostly in vitro / animal)

Dosing & Compounds

Typical Dose
About 1 cup (225 g) of fresh pulp as an occasional whole food; concentrated leaf teas/seed extracts are not recommended due to annonacin neurotoxicity
Active Compounds
Annonaceous acetogenins (annonacin, annomuricin E, muricoreacin) - potent mitochondrial complex I inhibitorsVitamin C (ascorbic acid)Isoquinoline alkaloids (reticuline, coreximine, anonaine)Flavonoids & phenolic acids (quercetin, chlorogenic acid)Dietary fiber (soluble + insoluble)PotassiumMagnesiumCarotenoids

Safety & Cautions

Soursop fruit, leaves, and seeds contain annonacin and related acetogenins, mitochondrial complex I inhibitors associated with an atypical, levodopa-resistant parkinsonism/tauopathy in regions of heavy consumption (Guadeloupe, New Caledonia). An average fruit is estimated to hold ~15 mg annonacin and a can of nectar ~36 mg; chronic daily intake or concentrated leaf teas/seed extracts pose the greatest risk and should be avoided. Seeds are toxic and emetic. May add to the effect of antihypertensive and antidiabetic drugs (additive blood-pressure/glucose lowering). Avoid in pregnancy/breastfeeding and in people with Parkinson's disease or other movement disorders. Not a substitute for cancer treatment. Educational only — always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Soursop (Graviola) with any medicine.

Key Studies

Systematic review Chan 2020 ✓ Source
Systematic review of A. muricata leaf-extract safety/tolerability: reported a generally favourable tolerability profile in available studies but concluded human safety data are very limited and no validated safe human dose has been established.
RCT Indrawati 2017 ✓ PubMed
Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial (30 enrolled, 28 completed) in resected colorectal-cancer patients: 8 weeks of A. muricata leaf extract increased ex vivo serum cytotoxicity against cancer cells vs placebo, with maintained nutritional status, but no clinical/tumor outcomes demonstrated.
Review Santos 2023 ✓ Full text
Review of soursop properties and valorization prospects concluded therapeutic claims rest mostly on preclinical data and that excessive consumption is not advised due to toxicological concerns.
Review Moghadamtousi 2015 ✓ Source
Comprehensive review documenting >100 annonaceous acetogenins plus isoquinoline alkaloids in A. muricata with broad in vitro/in vivo anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity, but noting near-absence of clinical trials.
Review Coria-Tellez 2018 ✓ Full text
Review of phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicity (>200 compounds): catalogs acetogenin/alkaloid mechanisms and explicitly flags annonacin-linked neurotoxicity and atypical parkinsonism as a key safety concern.
Animal study Nwokocha 2012 ✓ Source
In normotensive Sprague-Dawley rats, A. muricata aqueous leaf extract produced a dose-dependent hypotensive effect via peripheral mechanisms (calcium antagonism, not adrenergic/cholinergic/nitric-oxide mediated).
Quantitative analysis Champy 2005 ✓ PubMed
LC-MS quantification: an average soursop fruit contains ~15 mg annonacin and a can of commercial nectar ~36 mg; daily intake over a year approximates the annonacin dose that caused brain lesions in rats.
Animal mechanistic study Champy 2004 ✓ PubMed
Annonacin inhibited brain mitochondrial complex I, lowered brain ATP by 44%, and produced nigral (~32%) and striatal neuronal loss in rats, supporting a possible causal role in Guadeloupe atypical parkinsonism.
8 sources cited · 8 verified Search all studies on PubMed ↗

Common questions about Soursop (Graviola)

What is Soursop (Graviola) used for?

Soursop (Graviola) is most often taken for Vitamin C contribution (good source per serving), Dietary fiber for digestive health, Potassium contribution, Anticancer / cytotoxic activity (lab and one small RCT, no clinical outcomes). Creamy tropical fruit with a neurotoxic caveat

Does Soursop (Graviola) work — what does the evidence say?

Preliminary evidence. Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive. Soursop is a low-fat tropical fruit that is a good source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, but human evidence for its widely marketed health claims is weak. Most "graviola" research is in vitro or in rodents, where leaf and fruit acetogenins show anticancer, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial activity. The only notable human trial is a small (n=28 completers) 8-week randomized placebo-controlled study in resected colorectal-cancer patients, which found greater ex vivo cytotoxicity with leaf extract while maintaining nutritional status, but did not demonstrate clinical outcomes such as survival or tumor regression. Reviews conclude there is no validated effective or safe human dose and that claims of curing cancer are unsupported. Crucially, the same acetogenins (chiefly annonacin) are mitochondrial complex I inhibitors linked epidemiologically to atypical, levodopa-resistant parkinsonism in Guadeloupe and other high-consumption regions, with supporting rodent mechanistic data. Thus the fruit is reasonable as an occasional whole food, but concentrated leaf/seed extracts and heavy daily intake carry a real neurotoxic signal. Overall the weight of human evidence is preliminary.

What is the typical dose of Soursop (Graviola)?

About 1 cup (225 g) of fresh pulp as an occasional whole food; concentrated leaf teas/seed extracts are not recommended due to annonacin neurotoxicity

Is Soursop (Graviola) safe? Any cautions or side effects?

Soursop fruit, leaves, and seeds contain annonacin and related acetogenins, mitochondrial complex I inhibitors associated with an atypical, levodopa-resistant parkinsonism/tauopathy in regions of heavy consumption (Guadeloupe, New Caledonia). An average fruit is estimated to hold ~15 mg annonacin and a can of nectar ~36 mg; chronic daily intake or concentrated leaf teas/seed extracts pose the greatest risk and should be avoided. Seeds are toxic and emetic. May add to the effect of antihypertensive and antidiabetic drugs (additive blood-pressure/glucose lowering). Avoid in pregnancy/breastfeeding and in people with Parkinson's disease or other movement disorders. Not a substitute for cancer treatment.

How many studies support Soursop (Graviola)?

NutriDex cites 8 sources for Soursop (Graviola), graded "Preliminary".

Cite this page
APA

Peh, D. (2026). Soursop (Graviola) (Annona muricata): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects & Evidence. NutriDex — The Supplement Research Compendium. Retrieved 26 Jun 2026, from https://nutridex.info/s/soursop

BibTeX
@misc{nutridex_soursop,
  author       = {Peh, Daryl},
  title        = {Soursop (Graviola) (Annona muricata): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects \& Evidence},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {NutriDex --- The Supplement Research Compendium},
  url          = {https://nutridex.info/s/soursop},
  note         = {Reviewed by Dr Daryl Peh, MBBS Singapore, MMed FM. Accessed 2026-06-26}
}

For medical claims, citing the underlying primary studies linked above is preferred. NutriDex is an educational reference, not medical advice.

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