Acai berry

The acai fruit is the Brazilian "superfood". It originates from the Amazon region, where it is one of the staple foods of the indigenous population. In recent years, the acai fruit has become increasingly popular worldwide and is praised for its health and well-being benefits. This dark purple fruit contains a variety of nutrients and may have a whole host of health benefits, which we will take a look at below.

What is the acai fruit?

The acai fruit is a small round fruit with a diameter of around 2.5 centimeters that grows on the acai palm in the rainforests of Central and South America. It has a dark purple skin and yellow flesh that envelops a large stone. In the Amazon rainforest, acai fruits are often eaten as a side dish with meals. To make the acai fruit edible, it is soaked in water to soften the outer skin, after which the fruit is mashed into a dark purple paste. The acai fruit has an earthy flavor that is often described as a cross between blackberries and dark chocolate.

Fresh acai fruits do not keep for long and are therefore not available outside their region of origin. For export, they are processed into frozen fruit puree, dried powder or pressed juice. Acai fruits are also used to enhance the taste of other foods such as ice cream, drinks and jelly beans, and some cosmetic products such as body lotions also contain acai oil.

Acai fruit is very rich in nutrients

The acai fruit has a unique nutritional profile for a fruit as it is high in fat and low in sugar.

100 grams of frozen acai pulp contains the following nutrients:

Calories: 70 kcal
Fat: 5 grams
Saturated fat: 1.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 4 grams
Sugar: 2 grams
Dietary fiber: 2 grams
Vitamin A: 15% of the daily requirement
Calcium: 2% of the daily requirement

According to a study from Venezuela, acai fruit also contains several other trace elements including chromium, zinc, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus (2). However, some of the greatest benefits of acai fruit come from the plant compounds it contains. The most important of these are anthocyanins, which give the berries their dark purple color and act as antioxidants in the body. Anthocyanins are also found in other blue, black or purple foods such as black beans and blueberries.

Health benefits of the acai fruit

The acai fruit is packed with antioxidants

Antioxidants are important because they neutralize the damaging effects of free radicals in the body. If free radicals are not neutralized by antioxidants, they can damage the body's cells and lead to a number of serious diseases including diabetes, cancer and heart disease (3).

The acai fruit contains an amazing amount of antioxidants and outperforms many other antioxidant-rich fruits such as blueberries and cranberries (4). The antioxidant content of foods is typically indicated by the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) value. In the case of acai fruit, 100 grams of frozen fruit pulp has an ORAC value of 15,405, while the same amount of blueberries only reaches a value of 4,669 (4). This antioxidant activity comes from a number of plant compounds in the acai fruit, including anthocyanins (5, 6).

In 2008, scientists gave 12 fasting volunteers acai pulp, acai juice, apple pulp or a drink without antioxidants at four different times and then tested the volunteers' blood for antioxidants (7). Both the acai porridge and the apple porridge increased the subjects' antioxidant levels, which means that the antioxidants contained in acai are easily absorbed in the digestive tract. At the same time, this study also suggests that acai porridge is a better source of antioxidants than acai juice.

Summary: The acai fruit is rich in antioxidants and contains three times more antioxidants than blueberries.

Acai fruit could improve cholesterol levels

Animal studies have suggested that acai fruit may help improve cholesterol levels by reducing LDL cholesterol levels and total cholesterol levels (8, 9, 10).

It is possible that the acai fruit could also have similar effects in humans. In a 2011 study of 10 overweight adults who drank an acai smoothie twice a day for a month, lower levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and lower total cholesterol levels were observed at the end of the study (11). However, this study should be treated with caution as it only included a small number of subjects, there was no control group and it was funded by an acai supplier.

Although further research is needed, it is possible that the anthocyanins in acai may be responsible for the positive effects on cholesterol levels, as studies have linked these plant compounds to improvements in HDL and LDL cholesterol levels (12). In addition, acai fruit contains plant sterols that may prevent absorption of cholesterol by the body (10).

Summary: Many animal studies and at least one human study suggest that acai fruit may help lower cholesterol levels.

The acai fruit may have an anti-cancer effect

While no food is a magic shield against cancer, some foods are known to prevent or at least reduce the formation and spread of cancer cells. Both test tube and animal studies have observed such an anti-cancer effect with acai (13, 14, 15, 16, 17). In mice, the acai fruit was able to reduce the incidence of colon cancer and bladder cancer (14, 15). Another study conducted with mice, however, did not observe any effects on stomach cancer (18).

Although scientists believe that acai could play a role in the treatment of cancer in the future, further human studies are needed before this can happen. Summary: In vitro and animal studies have shown that acai may have potential anti-cancer effects.

The acai fruit could improve brain function

The numerous plant compounds contained in acai fruit may protect the brain from damage associated with ageing (19). Several studies have observed this type of protective effect in laboratory rats (19, 20, 21, 22). The antioxidants contained in the acai fruit counteract the damaging effects of inflammation and oxidation in brain cells, which can impair memory and learning (21). In one study, acai fruit even helped to improve memory performance in aging rats (22).

One of the ways the brain stays healthy is through a process called autophagy, which eliminates cells that are toxic or no longer functioning. This process creates space for new nerves to form, improving communication between brain cells.

However, this process becomes less efficient with age. However, in tests with laboratory rats, an acai extract was able to help stimulate this process in the brain cell area (23). Summary: Acai could counteract the damaging effects of inflammation and oxidation in the brain and help to stimulate the autophagy process.

Possible disadvantages

Considering the fact that acai fruit is an antioxidant-rich fruit, there are not many disadvantages, as expected. If you buy the acai fruit as a fruit puree, you should make sure that it is free from added ingredients. Some of these purees contain large amounts of added sugar, for example.

Different ways of presenting the acai fruit

As the fresh fruit does not keep for long, three main forms of the fruit are available outside the growing regions: purees, powders and juices. In addition, there are of course also supplements containing concentrated extracts of the fruit. The juice is packed with antioxidants, but has the highest sugar content of all the forms and lacks fiber. If the juice has been filtered, this may reduce the antioxidant content (7).

The powder provides the most concentrated amount of nutrients and contains fiber and fat as well as all the other plant compounds found in the acai fruit. The acai pulp, on the other hand, is probably the best way to enjoy the taste of acai berries. Both the pulp and the powder are ideal for preparing smoothies, which can be refined with any other ingredients if desired.

Conclusion

Thanks to its high antioxidant content, the acai fruit could have many potential health benefits. It is packed with powerful plant compounds that act as antioxidants and could have benefits for the brain, heart and general health. In addition, acai fruit provides healthy fats and fiber, making it a healthy food.