Fruits That Start With B

The letter B produces one of the most nutritionally diverse collections in the fruit kingdom. Bananas and blueberries alone represent two of the most studied fruits in nutritional science, each with a body of research supporting their benefits for cardiovascular health, cognitive function, and metabolic regulation. Beyond these familiar entries, the B category includes some of the most extraordinary fruits in global botany: breadfruit that has fed Pacific Island populations for millennia, bael that occupies a sacred place in Ayurvedic medicine, and the bilberry, a wild European cousin of the blueberry with a polyphenol concentration that outperforms its commercially grown relative.

Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirms that berry consumption is among the most consistently associated dietary behaviors with reduced cardiovascular risk, improved cognitive function, and better metabolic markers, with anthocyanins from dark-colored berries identified as the primary active compounds. The B fruit category contains several of the most anthocyanin-rich foods available.

The American Heart Association identifies blueberries specifically as one of the most evidence-supported foods for cardiovascular protection and cognitive health, with three or more servings per week associated with significantly reduced risk of heart attack in women in large prospective cohort studies.

14 Fruits That Begin With B: Complete List with Health Benefits

1. Banana: The World’s Most Popular Fruit

Banana is the most consumed fruit globally and the fourth largest agricultural product in the world after wheat, rice, and corn. Its nutritional reputation is often reduced to its potassium content, but the full picture is more interesting: banana provides vitamin B6 at levels that make it one of the best dietary sources of this nutrient, resistant starch in unripe form that functions as prebiotic fiber, and tryptophan that supports serotonin production.

The ripeness of a banana significantly changes its nutritional profile. An unripe green banana is high in resistant starch, which the digestive system cannot break down, producing a lower glycemic response and feeding beneficial gut bacteria. As the banana ripens and blackens, the resistant starch converts to simple sugars, raising the glycemic index from approximately 30 for a green banana to 60 for a fully ripe one. Both versions have valid dietary uses; the choice depends on whether prebiotic fiber or quick-release energy is the priority.

Health benefits: Potassium for blood pressure regulation and muscle function, vitamin B6 for neurotransmitter production and immune function, resistant starch in green bananas for gut microbiome support, and magnesium for muscle and nerve function. Mayo Clinic identifies bananas as one of the most potassium-rich common fruits, with regular consumption associated with reduced blood pressure and lower stroke risk.

Best eaten: Ripe for immediate energy and sweetness; slightly underripe for lower glycemic impact and prebiotic benefit. Frozen bananas blend into the smoothest protein shakes and ice cream of any fruit.

2. Blueberry: The Antioxidant Benchmark

Blueberry is the fruit that nutritional scientists have studied most intensively for cognitive and cardiovascular benefits, and it has consistently delivered in clinical trials rather than just observational associations. Its deep blue-purple color comes from anthocyanins, specifically delphinidin, cyanidin, and malvidin, which cross the blood-brain barrier and directly influence neuronal signaling pathways involved in memory and learning.

Blueberries provide approximately 9,000 to 13,000 ORAC units per 100 grams, one of the highest values among commonly available fruits, and their anthocyanin content has been shown in randomized controlled trials to improve memory in older adults, reduce arterial stiffness, and lower blood pressure.

Health benefits: Anthocyanins for cognitive function, cardiovascular protection, and reduced oxidative stress; pterostilbene (a methylated resveratrol analog) for metabolic health; vitamin K for bone health; and manganese for enzyme function. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health identifies regular blueberry consumption as linked to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, improved arterial function, and better cognitive performance in aging adults.

Best eaten: Fresh or frozen; freezing does not meaningfully reduce anthocyanin content. Avoid cooking at high temperatures which degrades the delicate anthocyanins.

3. Blackberry: Fiber and Vitamin C Champion

Blackberry is one of the highest-fiber fruits available at 7.6 grams per cup, second only to raspberries among common berries, alongside one of the highest vitamin C concentrations in the berry category. Its dark color reflects a similar anthocyanin profile to blueberry, with cyanidin-3-glucoside as the primary compound, providing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity across multiple biological pathways.

Blackberries grow wild across the Northern Hemisphere and are one of the most nutritionally generous foraged foods available, with wild blackberries showing higher polyphenol concentrations than commercially cultivated varieties due to the environmental stress response that drives antioxidant production.

Health benefits: Exceptional dietary fiber for gut health and cholesterol management, vitamin C for immune function and collagen synthesis, anthocyanins for cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory protection, and vitamin K for bone health. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics identifies blackberries as among the highest-fiber fruits available, with their combined fiber and anthocyanin content supporting cardiovascular health, LDL reduction, and gut microbiome diversity.

Best eaten: Fresh or frozen. Raw blackberries retain maximum vitamin C. Cook briefly if needed for sauces; prolonged heat degrades anthocyanins significantly.

4. Bilberry: The Wild European Superberry

Bilberry is the wild European cousin of the cultivated blueberry, smaller and darker with a deep purple flesh rather than white interior. This color difference is significant: bilberry anthocyanins are present throughout the entire fruit rather than just the skin, producing a dramatically higher anthocyanin concentration per gram than commercial blueberries. European bilberries contain approximately 300 to 700 mg of anthocyanins per 100 grams compared to 25 to 90 mg in cultivated blueberries.

Bilberry has been used in European herbal medicine since the Middle Ages for eye health, and modern research has validated this application: bilberry anthocyanins support retinal regeneration of rhodopsin, the visual pigment that enables night vision, and reduce eye fatigue from screen exposure.

Health benefits: The highest anthocyanin concentration of any commonly available berry for cardiovascular protection and anti-inflammatory effects, specific retinal health benefits, improved night vision and reduced eye fatigue, and blood sugar regulation through inhibition of alpha-glucosidase. Cleveland Clinic identifies bilberry as among the most evidence-supported natural options for eye health and night vision.

Best eaten: Fresh when available in summer in Northern Europe. More commonly available as a dried supplement, juice, or freeze-dried powder outside of its native range.

5. Blackcurrant: Vitamin C Concentration Champion

Blackcurrant is a small dark berry native to Northern Europe and Asia that provides one of the highest vitamin C concentrations of any temperate climate fruit, delivering 181 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams, approximately four times the concentration of fresh orange juice. Its GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) content is also notable; blackcurrant seed oil is one of the richest plant sources of this anti-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acid.

Blackcurrant was banned from cultivation in the United States for much of the 20th century because it served as a host for white pine blister rust, a fungal disease threatening the timber industry. This ban has been lifted in most states, and blackcurrants are becoming more available as a fresh and frozen product in North America.

Health benefits: Exceptional vitamin C for immune function and collagen synthesis, anthocyanins for cardiovascular protection, GLA from seeds for anti-inflammatory activity, and potassium for blood pressure. Johns Hopkins Medicine identifies blackcurrant anthocyanins as significantly reducing post-exercise muscle soreness and accelerating recovery through their combined anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms.

Best eaten: Fresh, frozen, as a juice, or as jam with minimal added sugar. Blackcurrant jam and cordial are traditional Northern European preparations that retain meaningful anthocyanin content.

6. Blood Orange: Anthocyanin-Rich Citrus

Blood orange is a citrus variety distinguished from standard orange by its deep red to purple flesh, produced by anthocyanins that develop in response to cool overnight temperatures during ripening. It is the only citrus fruit that contains anthocyanins, making it nutritionally unique within the citrus family and providing cardiovascular benefits that standard oranges cannot match.

The three main varieties are Moro, Tarocco, and Sanguinello, with Moro having the deepest color and highest anthocyanin content. Blood oranges have the standard citrus profile of vitamin C and flavanones alongside the added anthocyanin benefit, making them the most nutritionally complete citrus fruit available.

Health benefits: Vitamin C for immune function and collagen synthesis, anthocyanins for cardiovascular protection and anti-inflammatory effects, flavanones including hesperidin and naringenin for blood pressure reduction, and folate for cell division. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health identifies the flavanones in citrus including blood oranges as associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk and improved vascular function through endothelial nitric oxide production.

Best eaten: Fresh, juiced, or in salads where their dramatic color adds visual impact. Available in late winter through early spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

7. Breadfruit: The Pacific Staple

Breadfruit is a large, starchy tropical fruit native to the Pacific Islands and Polynesia that has served as a primary caloric staple for Pacific populations for over 3,000 years. Unlike most fruits which provide sugar as their primary carbohydrate, breadfruit provides complex carbohydrates with a starchy, bread-like texture when cooked, which gives it its common name.

Breadfruit is receiving significant attention from food security researchers as a climate-resilient, high-yield crop that could address global food insecurity. A single breadfruit tree produces 100 to 200 fruits per year for decades with minimal input. Its fiber content, potassium, and carotenoid concentrations compare favorably to most staple grains.

Health benefits: Complex carbohydrates for sustained energy, dietary fiber for gut health, potassium for blood pressure regulation, carotenoids for immune function and vision, and omega-3 fatty acids in modest amounts unusual for a starchy fruit. National Institutes of Health identifies breadfruit’s fiber and resistant starch content as producing a lower glycemic response than equivalent-calorie refined grain staples, supporting blood sugar stability and prolonged satiety.

Best eaten: Cooked; raw breadfruit is inedible. Roasted, baked, fried, or boiled when mature and starchy. When fully ripe and soft, eaten fresh like a sweet fruit.

8. Boysenberry: The Cross-Bred Giant

Boysenberry is a large, dark purple hybrid berry created in the 1920s by crossing raspberry, blackberry, loganberry, and dewberry. Named after its creator Rudolph Boysen, it is larger and more intensely flavored than any of its parent berries, with a wine-like depth that makes it prized for jams, pies, and fresh eating. It is grown primarily in New Zealand and California.

Boysenberry shares the nutritional profile of its blackberry and raspberry parents: high fiber, significant vitamin C, anthocyanins, and vitamin K, with a particularly high ellagic acid content that has shown cancer-preventive properties in laboratory studies.

Health benefits: High dietary fiber for cholesterol management and gut health, anthocyanins for cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory effects, vitamin C for immune function, vitamin K for bone health, and ellagic acid with antioxidant and potential cancer-preventive properties. Johns Hopkins Medicine identifies ellagic acid from dark berries including boysenberry as one of the most studied polyphenols for anti-cancer protective mechanisms.

Best eaten: Fresh when available in summer, or frozen year-round. Boysenberries freeze exceptionally well and retain full flavor and most nutritional value when frozen.

9. Bael: The Sacred Ayurvedic Fruit

Bael, also known as Bengal quince or stone apple, is a fruit native to the Indian subcontinent that holds deep significance in Hinduism as a sacred offering to Lord Shiva and in Ayurvedic medicine as one of the most therapeutically potent fruits in the entire pharmacopeia. The fruit is hard as a wooden shell when unripe, softening to a sticky, aromatic pulp when mature that is traditionally consumed as a sherbet drink, dried powder, or fresh.

Bael’s primary bioactive compounds are marmelosin, a furanocoumarin with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, and tannins that provide its characteristic astringency alongside demonstrated anti-diarrheal and gut-protective effects. It is one of the most extensively used medicinal fruits in South Asian traditional medicine.

Health benefits: Exceptional vitamin C content, tannins for gut health and antimicrobial protection, marmelosin for anti-inflammatory activity, beta-carotene for immune function, and riboflavin for energy metabolism. American Diabetes Association identifies bael fruit among traditional botanical foods with clinical evidence for reducing fasting blood glucose and improving insulin sensitivity in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Best eaten: As a traditional sherbet: pulp scooped from a ripe fruit and blended with water, sugar (optional), and black salt. Available outside South Asia primarily as a dried powder or supplement.

10. Bitter Melon (Bitter Gourd)

Bitter melon is botanically a fruit, specifically the seed-bearing structure of the Momordica charantia plant, though it is used as a vegetable in cooking across South and Southeast Asian cuisines. Its defining characteristic is an intense bitterness from momordicin compounds that also provide its primary health benefits.

Bitter melon is the most studied fruit for blood sugar management in traditional medicine systems, and clinical research has progressively validated this use. Its charantin, polypeptide-p, and vicine compounds act through multiple mechanisms to reduce blood glucose, mimicking the action of insulin in some pathways.

Health benefits: Blood glucose regulation through insulin-mimicking compounds, vitamin C for immune function, iron for red blood cell production, and bitter compounds that stimulate digestive enzyme production and bile secretion. WebMD identifies bitter melon as one of the most studied traditional fruits for blood sugar management, with its charantin and polypeptide-p compounds acting through insulin-mimicking mechanisms that reduce fasting blood glucose and HbA1c in multiple clinical trials.

Best eaten: Stir-fried, stuffed, or juiced in South and Southeast Asian preparations. Soaking cut bitter melon in salted water for 15 minutes before cooking reduces bitterness to acceptable levels for most palates.

11. Barbadine (Giant Granadilla)

Barbadine, also called giant granadilla, is the largest fruit in the passion fruit family, growing to the size of a watermelon with a pale yellow-green exterior and white, watery pulp surrounding large black seeds. Native to Central and South America, it is widely consumed in the Caribbean and parts of South America as a cooling drink and dessert fruit.

Despite its watery pulp, barbadine provides passiflorine, a compound with mild sedative properties related to the passion flower compounds used in herbal anxiety and sleep remedies. Its vitamin C content and fiber from the seed-surrounding pulp make it a hydrating, mildly nutritious tropical option.

Health benefits: Vitamin C for immune function, mild sedative passiflorine compounds supporting relaxation and sleep quality, dietary fiber, and significant potassium for blood pressure and muscle function.

Best eaten: The pulp is scooped from the halved fruit and consumed fresh or blended into drinks. The seeds are edible but most people strain them out for beverages.

12. Brazilian Cherry (Grumichama)

Grumichama, commonly called Brazilian cherry, is a small dark red to black fruit from the Myrtle family native to the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil. It is not related to the common cherry despite its name and appearance. The fruit is small, sweet-tart, and deeply pigmented with anthocyanins that provide significant antioxidant activity.

It is consumed fresh in its native region and increasingly cultivated in tropical and subtropical gardens worldwide. Its polyphenol profile, dominated by anthocyanins and ellagitannins, positions it alongside other dark-colored berries as a cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory food.

Health benefits: Anthocyanins for cardiovascular protection and anti-inflammatory effects, vitamin C for immune function, and ellagitannins with antioxidant properties similar to those found in pomegranates and blackberries.

Best eaten: Fresh when available; the fruit is very perishable and rarely found commercially outside its native range. Cultivated as a backyard fruit tree in subtropical climates.

13. Bignay: The Asian Wild Berry

Bignay, also known as Chinese laurel or salamander tree berry, is a small, sour berry native to Southeast Asia and Northern Australia that grows in dense clusters on the bignay tree. The berries ripen unevenly on the same cluster, producing a mix of green, red, and dark purple berries simultaneously. The fully ripe dark purple berries are sweet-tart; unripe berries and leaves contain hydrocyanic acid and should not be consumed.

Bignay berries are consumed fresh, as wine (a traditional Filipino product), and as jam across Southeast Asia. Their deep color indicates anthocyanin content comparable to other dark berries in this list.

Health benefits: Anthocyanins for cardiovascular and antioxidant protection, vitamin C for immune function, and tannins with antimicrobial properties.

Best eaten: Fully ripe dark purple berries only, fresh or fermented into traditional wine. Never consume green or unripe bignay berries.

14. Bacuri: The Amazon Butter Fruit

Bacuri is a large tropical fruit from the Amazon basin of Brazil, particularly abundant in the states of Pará and Maranhão. Its thick yellow rind contains a white, creamy pulp with an intensely aromatic sweet-sour flavor that is used extensively in Brazilian sweets, ice creams, juices, and jellies. The pulp is limited in quantity, typically representing only 10 to 15 percent of the fruit’s total weight, which makes it relatively expensive relative to its size.

Bacuri’s fatty acid profile is unusual for a fruit: its seeds contain a significant proportion of fat used as a cosmetic oil in Brazil, similar to the commercial use of açaí and buriti seed oils. The pulp itself provides vitamin C and carotenoids alongside its distinctive flavor compounds.

Health benefits: Vitamin C for immune support, carotenoids for immune function and skin health, and the aromatic compounds that characterize traditional Amazon fruit biodiversity.

Best eaten: As a juice, ice cream, or sweet paste (doce de bacuri) in Brazilian preparations. The fresh fruit is rarely available outside the Amazon region.

Fruits That Start With B: Complete Nutrition Summary Table

The Bottom Line

The B fruit category demonstrates the full nutritional range of what fruit offers. At one end, blueberries and blackcurrants are among the most researched functional foods in existence, with clinical trial evidence for cognitive protection, cardiovascular benefit, and anti-inflammatory activity. At the other, breadfruit and bael represent ancient dietary staples with millennia of human use and growing clinical validation of their specific therapeutic properties. Banana remains indispensable for its potassium, vitamin B6, and the unique prebiotic benefit of its resistant starch in unripe form. Bitter melon stands alone as the most studied fruit for blood glucose management in global medicinal traditions.

No single fruit from this list does everything. Together, they cover eye health, blood pressure, blood sugar, gut microbiome support, cardiovascular protection, and cognitive function across a calorie range from 17 to 137 per 100 grams.

All nutritional values are approximate and based on USDA FoodData Central data and available scientific literature. Values for exotic or tropical fruits may vary by variety, ripeness, and growing conditions.