Euterpe oleraceae is a large palm tree indigenous to the Amazon River and its tributaries and estuaries in South America. Its fruit, known as acai, is of great economic value to native people. In this study, a standardized freeze-dried acai fruit pulp/skin powder was used for all analyses and tests. Among many findings, anthocyanins (ACNs), proanthocyanidins (PACs), and other flavonoids were found to be the major phytochemicals. Two ACNs, cyandin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside were found to be predominant ACNs; three others were also found as minor ACNs. The total content of ACNs was measured as 3.1919 mg/g dry weight (DW). Polymers were found to be the major PACs. The concentration of total PACs was calculated as 12.89 mg/g DW. Other flavonoids, namely, homoorientin, orientin, isovitexin, scoparin, and taxifolin deoxyhexose, along with several unknown flavonoids, were also detected. Resveratrol was found but at a very low concentration. In addition, components including fatty acids, amino acids, sterols, minerals, and other nutrients were analyzed and quantified. Total polyunsaturated fatty acid, total monounsaturated fatty acid, and total saturated fatty acids contributed to 11.1%, 60.2%, and 28.7% of total fatty acid. Oleic acid (53.9%) and palmitic acid (26.7%) were found to be the two dominant fatty acids. Nineteen amino acids were found; the total amino acid content was determined to be 7.59% of total weight. The total sterols accounted for 0.048% by weight of powder. The three sterols B-sitosterol, campesterol, and sigmasterol were identified. A complete nutrient analysis is also presented. Microbiological analysis was also performed.

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Phytochemical and nutrient composition of the freeze-dried amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae mart. (acai).

The fruit of Euterpe oleraceae, commonly known as acai, has been demonstrated to exhibit significantly high antioxidant capacity in vitro, especially for superoxide and peroxyl scavenging, and, therefore, may have possible health benefits. In this study, the antioxidant capacities of freeze-dried acai fruit pulp/skin powder (OptiAcai) 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 assay with fluorescein as the fluorescent probe (ORACFL), and mild activity against both the peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radical by the peroxynitrite averting capacity (NORAC) and hydroxyl radical averting capacity (HORAC) assays, respectively. The SOD of acai was 1614 units/g, an extremely high scavenging capacity for O2 ¥- , by far the highest of any fruit or vegetable tested to date. Total phenolics were also tested as comparison. In the total antioxidant (TAO) assay, antioxidants in acai were differentiated into “slow-acting” and “fast-acting” components. An assay measuring inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation in freshly purified human neutrophils showed 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. Furthermore, other bioactivities related to anti-inflammation and immune functions were also investigated. Acai was found to be a potential cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 inhibitor. It also showed a weak effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide but no effect on either lymphocyte proliferation and phagocytic capacity.

http://pavelkovalenko.ru/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/J_agric_food_chem_54_22_8604-10.pdf

Antioxidant Capacity and Other Bioactivities of the Freeze-Dried Amazonian Palm Berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (Acai)

Many of our present medicines are derived directly or indirectly from higher plants. While several classic plant drugs have lost much ground to synthetic competitors, others have gained a new investigational or therapeutical status in recent years. In addition, a number of novel plant-derived substances have entered into Western drug markets. Clinical plant-based research has made particularly rewarding progress in the important fields of anticancer (e.g. taxoids and camptothecins) and antimalarial (e.g. artemisinin compounds) therapies. In addition to purified plant-derived drugs, there is an enormous market for crude herbal medicines.

The role of plant-derived drugs and herbal medicines in healthcare.

S & BIBLIOGRAPHIES Bibliography of Agriculture Biological Abstracts Botany Subject Index (U. S. Dept. of Agriculture) Chemical Abstracts Craker, L. E., A. F. Chadwick, & J. E. Simon. 1986. An introduction to the scientific literature on herbs, spices, and medicinal plants. Recent Adv. Bot. Hort. Pharm. 1: 1-9. Excerpta Botanica Index Medicus Index to American Botanical Literature Simon, J. E., A. F. Chadwick, & L. E. Craker. 1984. Herbs: an indexed bibliography, 1971-1980: the scientific literature on selected herbs, and aromatic and medicinal plants of the temperate zone. Shoe String Press. 770 pp.

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Plants & Civilization; An Introduction to the Interrelationships of Plants and People

The acai berry is the fruit of the acai palm and is traditionally consumed in Brazil but has gained popularity abroad as a food and functional ingredient, yet little information exists on its health effect in humans This study 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 Healthy volunteers (12) 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 Noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis of total anthocyanins quantified as cyanidin-3-O-glucoside showed Cmax values of 2321 and 1138 ng/L at t max times of 22 and 20 h, and AUC last values of 8568 and 3314 ng h L(-1) for pulp and juice, respectively Nonlinear mixed effect modeling identified dose volume as a significant predictor of relative oral bioavailability in a negative nonlinear relationship for acai pulp and juice Plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly increased by the acai pulp and applesauce Individual increases in plasma antioxidant capacity of up to 23- and 3-fold for acai juice and pulp, respectively were observed The antioxidant capacity in urine, generation of reactive oxygen species, and uric acid concentrations in plasma were not significantly altered by the treatments Results demonstrate the absorption and antioxidant effects of anthocyanins in acai in plasma in an acute human consumption trial

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Pharmacokinetics of anthocyanins and antioxidant effects after the consumption of anthocyanin-rich acai juice and pulp (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) in human healthy volunteers.

Medicinal uses of South American palms

Through most of man's history, botany and medicine were, for all practical purposes, synonymous fields of knowledge, and the shaman, or witch-doctor — usually an accomplished botanist — represents probably the oldest professional man in the evolution of human culture.

Mark J. Plotkin

Papers

Medicinal uses of South American palms

Conservation, Ethnobotany, and the Search for New Jungle Medicines: Pharmacognosy Comes of Age … Again