Acai Berry has high level of oral bioavailability as exhibited in a recent study in healthy human volunteers. Volunteers demonstrated an increase in plasma antioxidant levels after consumption of Acai pulp when compared to Acai clarified juice and applesauce. It appears that
a large portion of anthocyanins are bound within the insoluble fiber of Acai pulp, suggesting that products manufactured from Acai pulp, rather than juice have a higher antioxidant capacity. Another study on Acai Berry found that Freeze-dried Acai powder has high antioxidant activity against superoxide and peroxyl radicals and milder activity for hydroxyl radicals. Several studies have begun to examine the effects of Acai pulp and Acai oil as having anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in in vitro cancer cell lines, namely leukemia and colon adenocarcinoma cell lines. To date, these studies demonstrate a positive cytotoxic effect and show promise for future studies on cancer cells.
Dietary intake of naturally occurring polyphenolics have been suggested to contribute to the prevention of many chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer and hyperlipidemia. In addition to their antioxidant properties, polyphenolics have also been shown to inhibit cell proliferation, induce apoptosis, alter cell cycle kinetics, and interfere with intracellular signal transduction in several in vitro cancer
models. Many studies are currently underway to explore the role of Acai Berry as a potent polyphenolic antioxidant. The phytochemical property of Acai Berry fruit has been characterized as containing a diversity of hydroxybenzoic acids and flavan-3- ols as well as cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside with cyanidin 3-Oglucoside being the predominant anthocyanins. And according to its nutritional profile, Acai is naturally high in calcium. Acai Berry fruit pulp is unique in that up to 9% of its total weight is a blend of healthy monounsaturated and essential fatty acids. A study on Acai oil composition reports that Acai is 60% oleic acid, 22% palmitic acid, 12% linoleic acid, and 6% each of palmitoleic and
stearic acids, along with other fatty acids. Five forms of plant sterols have also been identified including β-sitosterol (78%), stigmasterol (6.55), δ5-avenasterol (6.5%), campsesterol (6.0%), and cholesterol (2.0%).
Acai Berry fruit is obtained from the Amazon River basin and plants are manually harvested from wild Acai palms which are native to this area. The actual fruit is deep purple in color and is about one inch in size, similar in size and appearance to a grape, but with less flesh. In many regions of Brazil, Acai makes up a major component of the native diet. Acai has become one of the main export products of the Amazon estuary to other regions of the world because of the high demand from the Acai beverage and natural product industry. The demand has rapidly increased because so much attention has been given to Acai’s antioxidant capacity, phytochemical composition, and associated health benefits
such as being an anti-diarrheal agent.
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