Rose hips are berries that form on plants belonging to the Rosa or rose family. Rose hips have medicinal effects because of the phytochemicals they contain. In particular, rose hips are high in vitamin C, and vitamin C from rose hips is often used to create dietary supplements. For example, rose hips can contain about 425 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of fruit. That means that the fruit is 0.4 % vitamin C by weight, which is a large amount. As well as vitamin C, rose hips contain other antioxidants including beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene, which all belong to the carotenoid group of phytochemicals. While vitamin C is water soluble, the carotenoids are lipid soluble, and this gives rose hips antioxidants that can have quite different roles in the tissues of humans. The vitamin C may preferentially accumulate in the watery fluid in and around cells, whilst the carotenoids may accumulate in the cell membranes that surround the cells. This varied antioxidant content may explain some of the medicinal effects of rose hips.
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