Acai
1: J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8604-10.
Antioxidant capacity and other bioactivities of the freeze-dried Amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae mart. (acai).
- Schauss AG, Wu X, Prior RL, Ou B, Huang D, Owens J, Agarwal A,
- Jensen GS, Hart AN, Shanbrom E.
Natural and Medicinal Products Research, AIMBR Life Sciences, 4117 South Meridian, Puyallup, Washington 98373, USA. alex@aibmr.com
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.
PMID: 17061840 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
: J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Jun 14;54(12):4162-7.
Total oxidant scavenging capacity of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (acai) seeds and identification of their polyphenolic compounds.
- Rodrigues RB, Lichtenthaler R, Zimmermann BF, Papagiannopoulos M,
- Fabricius H, Marx F, Maia JG, Almeida O.
Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Department of Food Chemistry I, University of Bonn, Endenicher Allee 11-13, D-53115 Bonn, Germany.
The antioxidant capacity of methanol and ethanol seed extracts from Euterpe oleracea Mart. (acai) against the reactive oxygen species (ROS) peroxyl radicals, peroxynitrite, and hydroxyl radicals was studied with the total oxidant scavenging capacity (TOSC) assay in a modified and automated version. Cold methanol digestion was the most efficient extraction method with respect to the antioxidant capacity. The extracts exhibit good antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals, similar to the capacity of the pulp. The antioxidant capacity against peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals is even higher. The main antioxidants identified by HPLC-MS and HPLC-CEAD are five different procyanidins (di- through pentamers); furthermore, protocatechuic acid and epicatechin were identified as minor compounds. Determination of TOSC values of HPLC seed extract fractions indicates that the procyanidins contribute substantially to the overall antioxidant capacity. In addition, however, other compounds that have not yet been identified are responsible for a large part of the observed antioxidant capacity.
PMID: 16756342 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
