acai benefits review, acai berry juice benefit and side effects- ZHION.COM
- updated on August , 2011
The acai berry is the fruit of the acai palm and is traditionally consumed in Brazil. It has gained
popularity abroad as a food and functional ingredient. It is promoted as a bomb of powerful
antioxidants. The berry is purple in color. Generally, The neutral and acidic flavonoids of red cabbage,
red lettuce, acai frozen pulps, and other pulps or frozen pulps showed high antioxidant activities. [7]

Nutrient Composition, nutritional value

Açaí fruit is a fair source of vitamin C and good source of natural antioxidants - anthocyanins and
carotenoids. [3]

In a study, Acai in the Venezuelan Amazon was found to have a high nutritional value - 33-49% lipids,
9-13% protein, 2-5% ash, 18-27% dietary fiber. In fact, 71% of the Acai fat is oleic acid and the iron
content is about 0.015-0.023 mg/100 g. It also contains about 2-5 g/100 g of polyphenols, 0.7-1.37
g/100 g of tannins and 0.73-1.6 g/100 g of anthocyanins. Its antioxidant capacity is about 87-88%. [10]

In another study, anthocyanins (mainly cyandin 3-glucoside and cyaniding 3-rutinoside; 3.19 mg/g dry
weight), proanthocyanidins (mainly polymer; 12.9 mg/g dry weight), and other flavonoids (such as
homoorientin, orientin, isovitexin, scoparin, and taxifolin deoxyhexose) were found to be the major
phytochemicals. [11]

Total polyunsaturated fatty acid, total monounsaturated fatty acid, and total saturated fatty acids
contributed to 11.1%, 60.2%, and 28.7% of total fatty acid. Oleic acid (53.9%) and palmitic acid
(26.7%) were the two dominant fatty acids. Nineteen amino acids were found; the total amino acid
content was determined to be 7.59% of total weight. The total sterols accounted for 0.048% by weight
of powder. The three sterols B-sitosterol, campesterol, and sigmasterol were identified. [11]

Crude oil extracts of Acai fruit (Euterpe oleracea) contains various phenolic compounds and they are
vanillic acid, syringic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, and ferulic acid (+)-catechin
and numerous procyanidin oligomers [13]

Recently, Dihydroconiferyl alcohol, (+)-lariciresinol, (+)-pinoresinol,
(+)-syringaresinol, and protocatechuic acid methyl ester, aryltetrahydronaphthalene,
dihydrobenzofuran, furofuran, 8-O-4'-neolignan, and tetrahydrofuran structural types were also found
in Acai.

ACAI BENEFITS

The antioxidants contribute the health benefits of Acai berry.

acai benefits antioxidants
Acai berry juice and extract supplements were found to have anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory
activities. MonaVie Active, a juice blend of fruits and berries; acai is the major ingredient The major
antioxidants showed antioxidant protection of erythrocytes. In a clinical study, intake of acai pulp and
applesauce was found to increase plasma antioxidant capacity (of anthocyanins) up to 2.3-3 folds. [6]

Consumption of an acai juice showed an increase in serum antioxidant, and inhibition of lipid
peroxidation. [4] In a different study, acai showed a strong inhibition of the reactive oxygen species
formation in polymorphonuclear cells, indicating the anti-inflammatory properties of Acai. [5] However,
the antioxidant capacities of different Açaí samples were found to be excellent against peroxyl radicals,
good against peroxynitrite and poor against hydroxyl radicals compared with common European fruit
and vegetable juices. [14]

Acai benefits antioxidants VS other beverages?
Antioxidant capacity of the polyphenol-rich beverages was found to be in this order: pomegranate juice
>red wine>Concord grape juice>blueberry juice>black cherry juice, açaí juice, cranberry juice>orange
juice, iced tea beverages, apple juice. [15]

Acai benefits antioxidants VS Acai fruit ?
The manufacturing process for some supplements can concentrate the antioxidants, while some
processes may also degrade certain amounts of antioxidants.

Acai benefits

Acai benefits - anti-cancer activities
Açai polyphenolics were shown to have anticancer activities in studies of HL-60 human leukemia cells
cytotoxicity in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. [9, 12]

Acai benefits - Blood Pressure Modulating Effects
It was also found that Acai stone extract had vasodilator activities, which the release of
endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor might be involved.[8]

Acai benefits weight loss
An advertisement in a magazine quoted celebrities were using it to help with weight loss ---is this
correct? There is no clinical data to support this claim - acai extract supplement help weight loss.

Acai berry cleanse, Acai detox?
There are many herbal products on the market that claim to have "colon cleanse" properties. There is
NO report to suggest acai extract supplement has this property.

Acai berry side effects
Though small websites claim there are no major acai berry side effects reported in the medical
literature. Acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) juice has actually been reported to be a transmission route for
Chagas' disease many years ago. [1] Just in 2006, 178 cases of acute Chagas disease were reported
in Brazil; 11 cases occurred in Barcarena and were confirmed by visualization of parasites on blood
smears. [2]

Is it safe for people with high blood pressure or kidney disease to take acai berry supplement product?
There are no scientific study related to this issue. Some websites suggest that there are no problems
associated with them, but it is known that acai berry has blood-pressure modulating activities.

Acai supplements - acai juice - acai capsules
Acai is sold as capsules, juice, pulp and puree. Acai berry extract supplements have been promoted
for those who do not wish to consume the extra calories from the juice or drink.

Reference:
[1] Pereira KS, Schmidt FL, Guaraldo AM, Franco RM, Dias VL, Passos LA. Chagas' disease as a foodborne illness. J
Food Prot. 2009 Feb;72(2):441-6. [2] Nóbrega AA, Garcia MH, Tatto E, Obara MT, Costa E, Sobel J, Araujo WN. Oral
transmission of Chagas disease by consumption of açaí palm fruit, Brazil. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Apr;15(4):653-5. [3]
Santos GM, Maia GA, Sousa PH, Costa JM, Figueiredo RW, Prado GM. Correlation between antioxidant activity and
bioactive compounds of açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart) comercial pulps Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2008 Jun;58(2):187-92. [4]
Jensen GS, Wu X, Patterson KM, Barnes J, Carter SG, Scherwitz L, Beaman R, Endres JR, Schauss AG. In vitro and in
vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities of an antioxidant-rich fruit and berry juice blend. Results of a pilot and
randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 24;56(18):8326-33.
Epub 2008 Aug 22. [5] Honzel D, Carter SG, Redman KA, Schauss AG, Endres JR, Jensen GS. Comparison of
chemical and cell-based antioxidant methods for evaluation of foods and natural products: generating multifaceted
data by parallel testing using erythrocytes and polymorphonuclear cells. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep
24;56(18):8319-25. Epub 2008 Aug 22. [6] Mertens-Talcott SU, Rios J, Jilma-Stohlawetz P, Pacheco-Palencia LA,
Meibohm B, Talcott ST, Derendorf H. Pharmacokinetics of anthocyanins and antioxidant effects after the consumption
of anthocyanin-rich acai juice and pulp (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) in human healthy volunteers. J Agric Food Chem. 2008
Sep 10;56(17):7796-802. Epub 2008 Aug 12. [7] Hassimotto NM, Genovese MI, Lajolo FM. Antioxidant activity of dietary
fruits, vegetables, and commercial frozen fruit pulps. J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Apr 20;53(8):2928-35. [8] Rocha AP,
Carvalho LC, Sousa MA, Madeira SV, Sousa PJ, Tano T, Schini-Kerth VB, Resende AC, Soares de Moura R.
Endothelium-dependent vasodilator effect of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Açaí) extracts in mesenteric vascular bed of the
rat. Vascul Pharmacol. 2007 Feb;46(2):97-104. Epub 2006 Sep 1. [9] Del Pozo-Insfran D, Percival SS, Talcott ST. Açai
(Euterpe oleracea Mart.) polyphenolics in their glycoside and aglycone forms induce apoptosis of HL-60 leukemia
cells. J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Feb 22;54(4):1222-9. [10] Neida S, Elba S. Characterization of the acai or manaca
(Euterpe oleracea Mart.): a fruit of the Amazon Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2007 Mar;57(1):94-8. [11] Schauss AG, Wu X, Prior
RL, Ou B, Patel D, Huang D, Kababick JP. Phytochemical and nutrient composition of the freeze-dried amazonian palm
berry, Euterpe oleraceae mart. (acai). J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8598-603. [12] Pacheco-Palencia LA,
Talcott ST, Safe S, Mertens-Talcott S. Absorption and biological activity of phytochemical-rich extracts from açai
(Euterpe oleracea Mart.) pulp and oil in vitro. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 May 28;56(10):3593-600. Epub 2008 Apr 29. [13]
Pacheco-Palencia LA, Mertens-Talcott S, Talcott ST. Chemical composition, antioxidant properties, and thermal
stability of a phytochemical enriched oil from Acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.). J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Jun
25;56(12):4631-6. Epub 2008 Jun 4. [14] Lichtenthäler R, Rodrigues RB, Maia JG, Papagiannopoulos M, Fabricius H,
Marx F. Total oxidant scavenging capacities of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Açaí) fruits. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2005
Feb;56(1):53-64. [15] Seeram NP, Aviram M, Zhang Y, Henning SM, Feng L, Dreher M, Heber D. Comparison of
antioxidant potency of commonly consumed polyphenol-rich beverages in the United States. J Agric Food Chem. 2008
Feb 27;56(4):1415-22. Epub 2008 Jan 26. [16] Chin YW, Chai HB, Keller WJ, Kinghorn AD. Lignans and other
constituents of the fruits of Euterpe oleracea (Acai) with antioxidant and cytoprotective activities. J Agric Food Chem.
2008 Sep 10;56(17):7759-64. Epub 2008 Jul 26.
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