The Acai Berry – It’s got the whole world talking
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010If you’ve watched television lately, you may have seen one of the many ads promoting various brands of acai berry juice. While this ‘perfect potion’ is new to the United States, it has been familiar in other parts of the world for hundreds of years.
Acai (a-sigh-ee) palm trees are members of the genus Euterpe and grow mostly in Central and South American rain forests. The fruit is a dietary staple in the Amazon region, where various species are used in herbal remedies for diarrhoea, jaundice, fever, skin ulcers, and tonics to enrich the blood. Euterpe oleracea is the variety that’s causing all the buzz.
A classic palm, the acai tree grows as tall as 80 feet. Its multiple long, thin trunks have branches near the top that support long, ribbon like leaves. Dangling from the branches are clusters of three to eight deep-purple berries - so dark that they look almost black. Each berry is about the size of a blueberry and is composed of a small amount of pulp surrounding a large seed.
Acai berries debuted on the global market about seven years ago. Because they are very fragile, until recently most berries were used locally within a day or two of picking. But several local companies now process them for global distribution.
Scientific evidence
One hundred grams (3.5 ounces) of the standard, freeze-dried powder made from acai berry pulp and skin contains 533.9 calories, 52.2 g carbohydrate, 44.2 g dietary fibre, 8.1 g protein, and 32.5 g total fat. While few people consume a serving so large, it is easy to see how a small amount of this nutrient-dense fruit could be very beneficial.
Chemical analysis finds acai juice to be an excellent source of essential fatty acids, fibre, and antioxidants. The National Institute on Aging has developed oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) values to measure the antioxidant capacity of various foods. With a rating of 161,400 units/100 g, acai has the highest ORAC value of any food tested to date and is 10-30 times more powerful than red wine by volume.
This rich antioxidant activity has spurred intense research into acai’s potential for preventing numerous diseases. A University of Florida study showed that acai extract triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86% of leukaemia cells in vitro. In a rat study at the University of Rio de Janeiro, acai extract induced long-lasting endothelium-dependent vasodilatation, which is strongly linked to improved cardiovascular function.
Meanwhile, in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 12 healthy volunteers ingested a standardized acai extract. When serum antioxidant levels were sampled one and two hours later, the concentrations had definitely increased at each interval.
Other touted and likely physiologic results from this berry are increased energy, improved mental clarity, improved GI function, better glycaemic control for diabetic patients, improved cholesterol balance, and a slowing of cellular aging. All these benefits have yet to be proven, but other high-antioxidant products are credited with these effects.
Acai may have another clinical benefit that’s not directly related to nutrition. A study now under way is looking at acai extract as a substitute for gadolinium contrast agents in MRI exams of the GI tract. In earlier research, acai berry pulp was found to have a definite increased T1-weighted MRI signal in vivo, revealing a significant contrast on bowel walls and gastric tissue. Further analysis linked this to spectrophotometric detection of iron, magnesium, and copper ions.
If you want to get some of this delicious berry anywhere in Australia, try the new Amazon Power Acai Powder by clicking here.

