Lychee: Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Lychee (Litchi chinensis, soapberry family, Sapindaceae) is a tropical to subtropical fruit with a rough red skin and a sweet, juicy, translucent flesh around one large seed. Only the flesh is eaten. People enjoy it fresh or canned, and many believe it is good for health. This page separates the food from supplements and from hype, and says plainly what is and is not known. [2]

Read this first

• Lychee can cause a true allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis, in some people. For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911. See food allergy basics and emergency signs. [3][4]
• In Muzaffarpur, India, in 2014, a study linked eating lychee, especially on an empty stomach (no evening meal), to a serious brain illness with low blood sugar in children. The authors found two natural toxins in the fruit there. This was a specific outbreak; it does not show that ordinary lychee eating elsewhere is dangerous, but it is a good reason to be careful with children and not to give them lychee in place of a meal. [1]
• Lychee is a good source of vitamin C and copper. We did not find human trials showing that lychee prevents or treats any disease: Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.

What is in it (USDA values)

Source: USDA FoodData Central, "Litchis, raw" (SR Legacy, FDC 169086). [5] The serving column is our arithmetic from the USDA values and the USDA household portion of 1 cup (190 g); one peeled fruit is listed by USDA as 9.6 g. % Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values; values vary with variety, ripeness and storage. Lychee has no vitamin A or carotenoids in the USDA data, so it is not an orange-fruit source of those.

A 2020 review says lychee polysaccharides (long sugar chains) and polyphenols (plant pigments and related compounds) are credited with most of the reported effects. Most of that work was done in laboratory dishes and animals, not in people. [2]

What research says

Eaten as food vs taken as a supplement or extract. The studies above are about the fruit or its parts in the lab. We did not find a human trial of lychee fruit, juice or extract for a health goal, so nothing here applies to capsules or seed extracts. Observational links, and a food being rich in a nutrient, do not prove that eating it treats a disease.

How much is a normal serving

The USDA household portion for raw lychee is 1 cup (190 g), or about 20 peeled fruit at 9.6 g each. [5] This is information, not a prescription. We did not read an official MyPlate or Dietary Guidelines figure for lychee in particular, so we do not give one. Canned lychee in syrup and juice were not in our USDA file, so their nutrient values are not shown; syrups and juices usually add sugar and lack the fiber of the whole fruit, so check labels. See fruit juice vs whole fruit. Proper evidence not found on how cooking or canning changes lychee's vitamin C.

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Allergy. Eating lychee can cause itching, hives, swelling of lips or throat, trouble breathing or diarrhoea; a soluble protein is probably responsible. [2] Case reports describe anaphylaxis after eating lychee, including at the first ingestion. [3][4] In one case the allergen was profilin, a protein shared by many plants, and the person also reacted to sunflower seeds and some pollen. [3]
• Low blood sugar and brain illness in children (Muzaffarpur, India, 2014). The case-control study of 390 children found that 62% of 327 tested had blood glucose of 70 mg/dL or less on admission. Hypoglycin A and MCPG, two natural toxins that can lower blood sugar, were found in 66% of case urine samples and none of the controls, and in the lychee flesh tested (12.4 to 152.0 micrograms per gram of hypoglycin A). Not eating an evening meal raised the risk further. The authors advised limiting lychee, making sure children eat an evening meal, and treating low glucose quickly. [1] The findings were also discussed in published correspondence, so scientists continued to debate them. [7] The study was in children in one region; we did not find a source about adults elsewhere.
• Diabetes and sugar. A 1-cup serving has about 29 g of sugars. [5] People using insulin or diabetes medicines should ask their care team how fruit fits their plan; see foods for blood sugar control.
• Medicines. We did not find a source we could read describing medicine interactions with lychee as a food, so we make no claim either way. A pharmacist can check.
• Pregnancy. Proper evidence not found in the sources we read. See foods in pregnancy.
• Choking. We did not read a source on lychee choking; the fruit has a large slippery seed and a skin that must be removed, so take care with young children.
• Pesticide residues. Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• Skip fruit that is bruised or damaged, and trim damaged areas. [8]
• Keep cut or packaged fruit in a clean refrigerator at or below 40 F (about 4 C). [8]
• Rinse under running water before peeling; do not use soap or produce wash, and dry with a clean towel. Washing reduces bacteria but does not remove all. [8]

Related pages

• Food allergy basics and emergency signs
• Fruit juice vs whole fruit
• Fresh, frozen and canned produce
• Foods for blood sugar control
• Foods in pregnancy: what official bodies advise
• Polyphenols and flavonoids in foods