Acai - Nature's Energy Fruit
Fun facts About Absolute Acai Powder™,
Absolute Acai Capsules™ and Acai
Max® juice blend:
Table of Contents:
Superfood No. 1:
Acai berries
(Euterpe Oleracea)
"It may seem odd to start this list of super-foods with one you’ve
likely never even heard of. But studies have shown that this little berry is one
of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world! Acai (ah-sigh-ee) is the
high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. Harvested in the rainforests of
Brazil, acai tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within
its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature's perfect energy fruit.
Acai is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. Although
acai may not be available in your local supermarket, you can find it in several
health food and gourmet stores (often in juice form)….
"Acai pulp contains:
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"A remarkable concentration of antioxidants that help combat
premature aging, with 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes and 10 to 30
times the anthocyanins of red wine.
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"A synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fiber
and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health. An almost
perfect essential amino acid complex in conjunction with valuable trace minerals,
vital to proper muscle contraction and regeneration.
-
"The fatty acid content in acai resembles that of olive oil,
and is rich in monounsaturated oleic acid. Oleic acid is important for a number
of reasons.
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"It helps omega-3 fish oils penetrate the cell membrane; together
they help make cell membranes more supple. By keeping the cell membrane supple,
all hormones, neurotransmitter and insulin receptors function more efficiently.
This is particularly important because high insulin levels create an inflammatory
state, and we know, inflammation causes aging." - N.V. Perricone, M.D.
The dense pigmentation of acai has led to several
experimental studies of its anthocyanins, a group of polyphenols that give the deep
color to fruits and vegetables and are high in antioxidant value. A recent study
using a standardized freeze-dried acai fruit pulp and skin powder found the total
anthocyanin levels to be 319 mg per 100 grams (Schauss et al., 2006a). Cyanidin
3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside were the major anthocyanins determined in
this study as well several other studies including one by Lichtenthaler in 2005.
Twelve other flavonoid-like compounds were additionally found
in the Schauss et al. 2006a study, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin deoxyhexose,
isovitexin and scoparin, as well as several unknown flavonoids. Proanthocyanidins,
another group of polyphenolic compounds high in antioxidant value, totaled 1,289
mg per 100 grams of the freeze-dried pulp/skin powder, with a profile similar to
that of blueberries (Schauss et al., 2006a). Resveratrol was additionally found
to be present in acai in this study, although at low levels of 1.1 microgram per
gram.
A number of studies have measured the antioxidant strength of
acai. Unfortunately, the sources of acai and preparations
(e.g., whole fruit, juice, extract or soluble powder) for reporting the results
vary. A recent report using a standardized oxygen radical absorbance capacity or
ORAC analysis on a freeze-dried acai powder found that this powder showed an extremely
high antioxidant effect against peroxyl radical. In fact, it had the highest total
antioxidant level (1027 micromol TE/g) of any food tested by ORAC to date.
This includes a high lipophilic antioxidant content when compared to other berries.
The ORAC value for this freeze-dried powder was significantly higher than when other
methods of drying the fruit were tested (Schauss, 2006c).
The freeze-dried powder also showed very high activity against
superoxide, with a SOD assay level of 1614 units/g. Superoxide is thought to be
the initial producer of other more potent reactive oxygen species, and thus protection
against it is very important as a first line of defense for the body. Antioxidant
activity against both peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals was also observed, although
effects were milder than that seen against peroxyl radical and superoxide. Additionally,
antioxidant molecules from the freeze-dried powder were shown to actually enter
freshly obtained human neutrophils and inhibit oxidation induced by hydrogen peroxide,
even at very low concentrations of the acai powder including 0.1 part per trillion
(Schauss et al., 2006b). A previous report using a total oxygen scavenging capacity
assay also found that acai has extremely high antioxidant effects against peroxyl
radical, as well as a high capacity against peroxynitrite, and a moderate capacity
against hydroxyl radical when compared with other fruit and vegetable juices. (Lichtenthäler
et al, 2005)
Interestingly, the Lichtenthäler et al. study determined that
only 10% of acai's high antioxidant effects could be explained by its anthocyanin
content. Schauss et al. similarly found that that ratio of the hydrophilic ORAC
levels to the total phenolics in the freeze-dried fruit was 50, which is quite a
bit higher than the average fruit and vegetable ratio of 10. This suggests that
either there are other unknown antioxidants present contributing to this high antioxidant
activity and/or the antioxidants that acai contains are especially strong.
Schauss et al. (2006b) also utilized the "Total Antioxidant"
or TAO assay to differentiate the "fast-acting" (measured at 30 seconds) and "slow-acting"
(measured at 30 minutes) antioxidant levels present in freeze-dried powder. Acai
was found to have a higher "slow-acting" antioxidant components, suggesting a more
sustained antioxidant effect compared to "fast-acting" components.
Although it is unknown exactly how these in vitro antioxidant
levels will translate into health potentials for humans in vivo, it is likely that
acai fruit imparts health benefits associated with consumption of foods high in
antioxidants, such as reduced risk or prevention of chronic and oxidative stress
related disorders.
Antioxidant values of the seeds of the acai fruit have also been
reported (Rodrigues, 2006). Similarly to the berries, the antioxidant capacity of
the seeds were strongest against peroxyl radicals, at a concentration in the same
order of magnitude as the berries. The seeds had a stronger antioxidant effect than
the berries for peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals, although still less than its
effects against peroxyl radical. The results of this study were not linear based
on the concentration of the seeds that were used. The authors suggest the future
use of the seeds (a by-product of juice making) for antioxidant benefits such as
prolonging shelf-life of foods.
Other Research on Acai juice and Acai Berries:
Acai, in the form of a specific freeze-dried
acai fruit pulp, has been shown to have mild ability to inhibit cyclooxygenase
enzymes COX-1 and COX-2, with more effect on COX-1 (Schauss et al., 2006b). These
enzymes are important in both acute and chronic inflammation, and are targeted by
many of the anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs). Additionally, lower concentrations
(but not higher concentrations) of the freeze-dried pulp were found to be slightly
stimulating to macrophages in vitro. Macrophages are white blood cells that are
an important part of the immune system of the body. Also in macrophages, freeze-dried
acai pulp was found to inhibit the production of nitric oxide that had been induced
by the potent inflammatory inducer lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is part of the
cell membrane of certain bacteria (Schauss et al. 2006b). This effect increased
as the concentration of the acai increased. This suggests again the potential for
an anti-inflammatory effect of acai, although requires more research.
In 2006, a study performed at the University of Florida showed
that acai fractions containing polyphenolics could reduce proliferation of HL-60
leukemia cells in vitro. This was most likely due to increased rapid cell death
(apoptosis) as fractions were also found to activate caspase-3 (an enzyme important
in apoptosis) which was inversely correlated to cell death. (Pozo-Insfran et al.,
2006). This is a very preliminary study, but indicates a need for more research
on the possible anti-cancer effects of acai.
Due to its deep pigmentation, orally-administered acai has been
tested as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of the gastrointestinal
system (Cordova-Fraga et al., 2004). Its anthocyanins have been characterized for
stability as a natural food coloring agent (Del Pozo-Insfran et al., 2004).
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