What fruits are yellow and what gives them their color?
There are various yellow fruit varieties that grow worldwide.
Some of the most common of these include bananas and mangos. Notably, these fruits obtain their yellow pigment from the compounds they contain.
For example, specific carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, give mangos their yellow flesh (1)
Additionally, betaxanthin, a type of betalain, can also give fruits a yellow color. Betalains are nitrogen-containing pigments found within certain plants (2).
Key Point: Yellow fruits obtain their color from yellow-pigmented compounds such as carotenoids and betaxanthins.
Do yellow fruits provide unique nutritional benefits?
First, a specific fruit’s color does not dictate its nutrition and health properties.
In this regard, different fruit colors contain varying compounds, which may all offer some benefits.
That said, carotenoids and betaxanthins do offer their own potential benefits. Thus, fruits that contain these compounds may provide those specific benefits over fruit options that do not.
On this note, research demonstrates that carotenoids hold importance for vision and may have benefits for protecting against oxidative stress, diseases of aging, and cognitive impairment (3, 4, 5).
Less is known about betaxanthins, but they have antioxidant properties and may also provide health benefits (6, 7).
Aside from their pigment, many yellow fruits provide high levels of vitamin C. This essential vitamin plays a vital role in immune health and protecting against free radical-induced damage (8).
Key Point: Yellow fruits tend to contain good amounts of vitamin C in addition to carotenoids and betaxanthins. Although not unique to yellow fruit, each component has potential health benefits.
A list of yellow fruits
Here, listed in alphabetical order, are some of the most commonly available yellow fruit options.
Jackfruit shares some resemblance with durian in terms of appearance.
This large fruit has soft yellow flesh surrounded by a hard outer green shell.
The yellow flesh of the jackfruit is due to its high levels of carotenoids, which include all-trans-lutein, all-trans-beta-carotene, all-trans-neoxanthin, 9-cis-neoxanthin, and 9-cis-violaxanthin (19).
Nutritionally, jackfruit offers a rich source of potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6 (20).
Loquat is a small oval-shaped drupe (stone) fruit with a golden yellow color.
The loquat’s yellow pigmentation comes from its content of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, zeta-carotene, neurosporene, beta-cryptoxanthin, violaxanthin, and auroxanthin (24, 25).
Manganese and potassium are the primary micronutrients that loquats provide (26).
Nectarines typically have a red and yellow skin color with yellow flesh.
However, there are also white-fleshed nectarines available.
The difference between the pigments of these two nectarine cultivars is their total carotenoid content.
For example, research has found that yellow-flesh nectarines had a total carotenoid content of 80-186 mcg per 100 grams. In contrast, white-flesh nectarines only contained 7-14 mcg of carotenoids (29).
The primary vitamins and minerals in nectarines are niacin, potassium, and vitamin C (30).
Similar to mango, papaya is a tropical fruit that can have yellow to orange-red flesh surrounded by green peel.
The main difference between the yellow-fleshed and orange-red-fleshed papaya is the type of carotenoids they contain.
For instance, the primary carotenoids in yellow-fleshed papaya are beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin. However, the primary carotenoid in red-fleshed papaya is lycopene (31).
Papayas are good sources of vitamins and minerals, especially folate and vitamin C (32).
Key facts (per 145-gram cup)
Calories: 62 kcal
Carbohydrates: 15.7 g
Fiber: 2.46 g
Sugars: 11.3 g
Fat: 0.38 g
Protein: 0.68 g
Key nutrients: Vitamin C (98% DV), folate (13% DV)
Peaches are very similar to nectarines, with one of the only differences being they have furry skin. This being the case, peaches have red-yellow skin and yellow flesh.
The yellow pigmentation is down to the high carotenoid content of peaches (29).
Nutritionally, peaches are a good source of vitamin C and potassium (33).
Key facts (per 150-gram peach)
Calories: 69 kcal
Carbohydrates: 15.2 g
Fiber: 2.25 g
Sugars: 12.6 g
Fat: 0.41 g
Protein: 1.36 g
Key nutrients: Vitamin C (7% DV), potassium (4% DV)
Pineapple is a moderately large fruit with yellow flesh surrounded by thick, spiky skin.
This yellow pigmentation of pineapple comes from its carotenoid content, which includes beta-carotene, lutein, violaxanthin, and xanthophyll (34, 35).
Concerning the nutritional profile of pineapple, the fruit contains good levels of a range of vitamins and minerals. Pineapple offers high amounts of vitamin C, manganese, and copper (36).
Lastly, here are some answers to common questions about yellow fruit varieties.
How many yellow fruits are there?
While this article has covered some of the most common yellow fruits, there are hundreds of different fruit varieties around the world. Some of these are relatively unknown, and some only grow in specific areas of the world. For these reasons, it is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of yellow fruit varieties.
Are yellow fruits better than other fruit varieties?
Yellow fruits are neither “better” nor “worse” than other fruit options. To consume a broader range of different nutrients and phytochemicals, eating a variety of fruit and vegetables of different colors is a good idea.
What is the most common yellow fruit?
Based on global consumption figures, the most common yellow fruits are bananas and mangos (44, 45).
Final Thoughts
There are many kinds of yellow fruit, and they all offer good nutritional value.
However, it is a good idea to vary the types of fruit we eat to ingest a greater variety of different nutrients and compounds.
Michael works as a nutrition educator in a community setting and holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Nutrition. He believes in providing reliable and objective nutritional information to allow informed decisions.
