Acai Berry Research

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Acai Berry Research?

Scientists are learning more about the functional power of superfoods, such as the acai berry.
Is a fact that Brazilian natives have been using acai berries for a long time. Traditionally, they have been used to cure digestive system disorders as well as skin conditions. They even use it as an energy drink too.

Some medical acai berry research conducted on this fruit, support a series of positive conclusions about the benefits of Acai for the human body.

Antioxidant effects after the consumption of anthocyanin-rich acai juice and pulp

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This Acai Berry Research was performed as an acute four-way crossover clinical trial with acai pulp and clarified acai juice compared to applesauce and a non-antioxidant beverage as controls.
12 healthy volunteers were dosed at 7 mL/kg of body weight after a washout phase and overnight fast, and plasma was repeatedly sampled over 12 h and urine over 24 h after consumption. Plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly increased by the acai pulp .Individual increases in plasma antioxidant capacity of up to 2.3- and 3-fold for acai juice and pulp, respectively were observed.
Results demonstrate the absorption and the positive antioxidant effects of anthocyanins in acai in plasma in an acute human consumption trial.
PMID: 18693743 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 10;56(17):7796-802. Epub 2008 Aug 12.

Characterization of the acai.

The objective of this Acai Berry Research was to determine the proximal composition, the fatty acid profile, the content of minerals, tannins, polyphenols, anthocyanins, the antioxidant capacity and the color of the acai pulp. collected in the Venezuelan Amazon from 2 harvests of the year 2005.The minerals were analyzed by the induced plasma technique. Polyphenols, tannins and anthocyanins were determined by spectrophotometric methods and the antioxidant capacity was analyzed.
Results indicated that acai has a high lipids content (49.4% and 33.1%), proteins (13.8% and 9.3%), ash (5.2% and 2.2%) and total dietary fiber (27.3% and 18.0%).
It stands out that 71% of the acai fat is oleic acid and that the Fe content of the first and second harvest was 0.023 and 0.015 mg/100g, respectively; polyphenols 5.02 and 2.20 g/100 g; tannins 0.70 and 1.37 g/100g; anthocyanins 0.73 and 1.60 g/100g and the antioxidant capacity 88.03 and 87.87%, respectively.
It is concluded that the acai has a high nutritional value and contains antioxidant compounds which suggests the need to industrialize it to take advantage to the maximum of its properties.
PMID: 17824205 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Laboratorio de Análisis de Alimentos, Departamento de Procesos Biológicos y Bioquímicos, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela.

Antioxidant capacity and other bioactivities of the freeze-dried Amazonian palm berry.

In this Acai Berry Research, the antioxidant capacities of freeze-dried acai fruit pulp/skin powder were evaluated by different assays with various free radical sources.
It was found to have exceptional activity against superoxide in the superoxide scavenging (SOD) assay, the highest of any food reported to date against the peroxyl radical as measured by the oxygen radical absorbance capacity.
Results shown that antioxidants in acai are able to enter human cells in a fully functional form and to perform an oxygen quenching function at very low doses.
PMID: 17061840 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Natural and Medicinal Products Research, AIMBR Life Sciences, 4117 South Meridian, Puyallup, Washington 98373, USA

University of Florida scientists discovered that Brazilian acai berries, native to the Amazon floodplains, have shown an ability to combat cancerous cells in lab tests.

Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor in the Food Science & Human Nutrition department, and a team of researchers revealed in a report that chemical compounds extracted from the acai berry could battle human cultured leukemia cells.
Depending on their concentration, the chemical compounds from the acai berry caused a fatal response in 25 percent to 84 percent of the collected leukemia cells, according to Talcott's report.
January 2006. University of Florida

Acai Seeds extract.

Extracts of acai seeds were reported to have antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals, similar to the antioxidant capacity of the pulp, with higher antioxidant capacity against peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals.
PMID: 16756342 Rodrigues RB, Lichtenthäler R, Zimmermann BF, Papagiannopoulos M, Fabricius H, Marx F, Maia JG, Almeida O.

Dr. Nicholas Perricone research.

Dr. Nicholas Perricone, MD, FACN, is a board certified clinical and research dermatologist. Dr. Perricone was on the Oprah show and discussed the acai diet.
It says "studies have shown that the acai berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world".
Dr. Perricone recommend super food, Acai, which is packed with vital nutrients, minerals and essential amino and fatty acids. Acai is also known to boost energy and deliver an overall sense of well being.

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