Fresh avocados (Persea americana) are characterised by their high lipid level (or fatty substances) of 14% on average and by a wide variability in its composition (depending on seasons, varieties, origin) with a water level varying from 59 to 85%, and a lipid content from 39 to 7%. The avocado has no cholesterol. But there are however traces of beta-sitosterol, which belongs as cholesterol to the sterols family, but does not have the same metabolism.The avocado is a fruit generally very well endowed with vitamins:

• The rate of vitamin C is about 11 mg per 100 g
• Pro-vitamin A reaches 0.185 mg per 100 g, with a level comparable to that of peaches and plums
• It contains all the B vitamins, usually at rates 5-10 times as much as most fresh fruits
• It provides a significant amount of vitamin E: 1.85 mg per 100 g, a value much higher than those observed in other fresh fruit (0.1 to 0.6 mg).

The avocado, rich in fat, provides a vast majority of unsaturated fatty acids which are beneficial to cardiovascular health. The avocado is because of its total energy level (on average 138 kcal per 100 g, but sometimes much higher) a preferred food for people whose calorie needs are high (adolescents, athletes, growing children).