Acai

Acai Berry

Family:

Arecaceae

Genus:

Euterpe

Species:

oleracea

Synonyms:

Euterpe badiocarpa

Common Names:

ashaí, assaí, cabbage palm, cansin, chonta, guasai, hasabis, hausai,

huai, jicara, juçara, manac, manaka, manicole, morroke, naidí,

palisade pine, palmito, palmiteiro, panan, pina, pinau, pinot, piriá,

prasara, saké, uassi, ungurahua, wasei, wapoe, yisara, yuyu chonta

Acai, açaí, acaí, acaizeiro, acaí-do-Pará, asai,Parts Used:

The Acai berry is one of the world’s most unique foods. It may also be one of the healthiest. Acai

berries come from the Acai palm tree of South America. The native peoples of Brazil have

consumed the berry for centuries. In the last few years Acai berry products have made their way to

foreign shores. Acai has a vibrant taste that most people find pleasant. The flavor of has been

described as comparable to chocolate-covered cherries, or blueberry ice cream with a hint of

chocolate.

Acai is a very common, tall, slender palm tree in this important palm family which grows 15 to 25 m

in height. The average mature wild tree has 4-8 well-developed stems (10-15 cm in diameter) from

a single seed and root system; however, a single seed can grow a plant providing up to 25 shoots

growing individually. It has pinnate leaves that start from a prominent crownshaft that is reddish

color. It has adapted to live in periodically waterlogged and flooded soils by developing special root

structures called

and are brown to purple in color.

Acai also produces an edible fruit which grows in bunches. The fruit is round, 1-2 cm in diameter,

with a single large seed inside surrounded by stringy fibrous sheaths and a thin oily coating. It

begins as a green color and ripens to a dark purple. Each tree stem usually produces four to eight

bunches of fruit throughout the year but ripe fruits are the heaviest in the dry season (July to

December) Each bunch can weigh up to 6 kg and one stem/trunk normally yields, on average, 24

kgs of fruit annually. In its natural habitat under the shady rainforest canopy, the acai tree grows

slowly in low light, often taking 4-5 years before producing fruit. The fruit is favored by birds and

rodents and the seeds are disbursed through the forest in their droppings

pneumatophores. It produces both female and male flowers which are quite small

TRIBAL AND HERBAL MEDICINE USES

In Brazilian herbal medicine, the oil of the fruit is used to treat diarrhea; an infusion of the root is

used for jaundice and to build the blood; an infusion of the grated fruit rind is used as a topical wash

for skin ulcers; and, the fruit seeds are crushed and prepared in an infusion for fevers. In the

Peruvian Amazon, an infusion of the toasted crushed seeds is used for fever, and a decoction of

the root is used for malaria, diabetes, hepatitis and jaundice, hair loss, hemorrhages, liver and

kidney diseases, menstrual pain, and muscle pain. In Colombia, where the trees grow along the

Pacific coast line, it is called

By far, the main use of acai by the local inhabitants of the Amazon is for the preparation of a thick,

dark purple juice obtained by macerating the ripe fruits. In some areas, individual consumption of up

to 2 liters daily has been recorded. It is often referred to as "poor-man's juice." It is so popular, there

is usually a small special establishment called an

villages that prepare the acai juice and sell it in small plastic bags. Although a basic part of the diet

of the poor, acai liquid has become popular throughout all socioeconomic levels. It has a metallic

nutty flavor with a creamy texture and oily appearance. To prepare the liquid the ripe fruits are

soaked in water to soften the thin outer shell. The fruits are then squeezed and the large seeds

strained out to produce a dense purple liquid with a distinctive flavor.

naidí and the fruit is turned into a common and popular drink.acailandia in most Amazon river towns and

PLANT CHEMICALS

The fruit liquid, called simply acai or

really that nutritious in comparison to many other fruit juices. The nutrient content analyzed is 1-4%

protein, 7-11% fats, 25% sugar, 0.05% calcium, 0.033% phosphorous, and 0.0009% iron. It also

has some sulphur, traces of vitamin B1 and some vitamin A and E. It also delivers 88 to 265

calories per 100 grams, depending on the preparation method.

The dark purple color of the fruit is due to the polyphenolic compounds present. One of the main

plant chemicals getting a lot of attention in acai, is a compound called anthocyanin. Anthocyanins

are a group of flavonoids widely distributed in plants and lending a red to purple color to fruits like

grapes, blackberries, and raspberries. As a well known antioxidant, anthocyanin-rich foods and

fruits have been marketed as cancer preventative and anti-aging products. Anthocyanins have also

been studied as novel sources of natural food colorings and dyes. The anthocyanin in acai however

is highly unstable and degrades easily in the presence of heat, humidity, as well as in the presence

of enzyme actions of other chemicals in the fruit. This makes acai fruit highly perishable; it readily

changes in color, taste, and anthocyanin content with even short term (12 hours) refrigerated

storage.

In addition to the standard vitamins and minerals found in most fruits, the main plant chemicals in

acai fruit include epicatechin, p-hydroxy-benzoic acid, gallic acid, (+)-catechin, protocatechuic acid,

ellagic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, cyanidin, and pelaronidin 3-glucoside.

Composition:

The Acai fruit is basically a energetic food, with high caloric and lipid content , even higher that the

raw milk and with a equivalent protein content. The pulp is also rich in Calcium, Iron and

Phosphorus and poor in vitamins, except B1 vitamin.

Anthocyanins

Acai berries contain an extremely high concentration of anthocyanins – 30 times that of red wine.

One of the many attributes of anthocyanins is their anti-inflammatory qualities. Studies have shown

that anthocyanins can help prevent blood clots, improve blood circulation, relax blood vessels, and

prevent artherosclerosis. But researchers have also discovered a whole host of other powerful

effects related to anthocyanins, including antiviral and antiallergenic properties. One study even

suggests that anthocyanins can inhibit cancer cell growth and even promoted cancer cell death.

Antioxidants

Antioxidant levels in Acai berry pulp are 50 times higher than mangoes, 10 to 30 times higher than

red wine grapes, 3 times higher than blueberries and 3 times higher than pomegranates.

Amino acids

The Acai fruit has 19 amino acids – an almost perfect essential amino acid complex (the “building

blocks” of protein).

Protein

One 100 gram serving of Acai contains 8 grams of protein.

WORLDWIDE ETHNOMEDICAL USES

Brazil

hemorrhages, jaundice, liver disease, parasites, and ulcers

as an astringent and blood cleanser; used for anemia, diarrhea, fever,

Peru

problems, liver diseases, malaria, menstrual pain, and muscle pain

used for diabetes, fever, hair loss, hemorrhages, hepatitis, jaundice, kidney

Essential fatty acids and omegas

High levels of essential fatty acids and omegas are present in Acai pulp. There is 60% oleic acid

(omega 9), a monounsaturated essential fatty acid that helps to lower LDL (harmful cholesterol),

while maintaining HDL (beneficial cholesterol). There is 12% linoleic acid (omega 6), a

polyunsaturated essential fatty acid that has also been found to lower LDL, while maintaining HDL.

Dietary fiber

Acai contains a significant amount of dietary fiber.

Trace minerals

High amounts of trace minerals (e.g. Co, Cr, Cu, Mo…) and macro minerals (Ca,Fe, Mg, P and Zn).

Phytosterols

Many valuable phytosterols. Sterols are compounds of plant cell membranes providing numerous

benefits to the body, including a reduction of blood plasma cholesterol levels, protect the immune

system, and protect against prostate enlargement.

Nutritional content

Most of the research to on the nutritional content of Acai has centered on a particular freeze-dried

form known as Opti-Acai. This powder preparation (per 100 g of extract) of freeze-dried Acai fruit

pulp and skin contains 533.9 calories, 52.2 g of carbohydrates, 8.1 g of protein, and 32.5 g of total

fat. There is 44.2 g of fiber. The powder also contains 260 mg calcium, 4.4 mg iron, and 1002 U

vitamin A, as well as aspartic acid and glutamic acid. The amino acid content is 7.6% of total dry

weight.

Fats

Acai berry has a high content of fats, including oleic acid (56.2% of total), palmitic acid (24.1% of

total), and linoleic acid (12.5% of total). Acai also contains high levels of beta-sitosterol (78–91% of

total sterols). These oil components include high contents of polyphenols such as procyanidin

oligmers and vanillic acid, syringic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, and ferulic acid

which degrade appreciably during storage or exposure to heat.

Antioxidants

Freeze-dried Acai fruit pulp and skin contains 3.19 mg/g of anthocyanins. The powdered

preparation also contains twelve flavonoid-like compounds, including homoorientin, orientin,

taxifolin, deoxyhexose, isovitexin, scoparin, as well as proanthocyanidins (12.89 mg/g), and low

levels of resveratrol (1.1 ?g/g).vinho de acai (although it's not alcoholic or fermented) is notfruit, root