Açaí Palm

taxobox
name = "Euterpe"


image_caption = A grove of Açaí palms in Brazil
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Monocots
unranked_ordo = Commelinids
ordo = Arecales
familia = Arecaceae
genus = "Euterpe"
genus_authority = Gaertn.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "Euterpe broadwayi" "Euterpe catinga" "Euterpe edulis" "Euterpe longibracteata" "Euterpe luminosa" "Euterpe oleracea" "Euterpe precatoria"|

The açaí palm (IPA-en|asaˈi) is a member of the genus "Euterpe", which contains 7 species of palms native to tropical Central and South America, from Belize south to Brazil and Peru, growing mainly in floodplains and swamps.

The genus is named after the muse Euterpe of Greek mythology. " Euterpe" are tall, slender palms growing to 15-30 meters, with pinnate leaves up to 3 meters long. Many of the palms that were once in the genus "Euterpe" have been reclassified into the genus "Prestoea" (Riffle, 2003). The species "Euterpe oleracea" is usually called Açaí Palm, after the Portuguese derivation of the Tupian word "ïwasa'i", 'fruit that cries or expels water'.

Harvesting and uses

tem

Heart of palm, the soft inner growing tip of some palms ("Euterpe edulis", "Euterpe oleracea", Bactris gasipaes), is often consumed in salads.Fact|date=July 2007

Fruit

The fruit, a small, round, black-purple drupe about 1 inch (25 mm) in diameter, similar in appearance and size to a grape but with less pulp, is produced in branched panicles of 700 to 900 fruits. Two crops of fruit are produced each year. The fruit has a single large seed about 0.25-0.40 inch (7–10 mm) in diameter. The exocarp of the ripe fruits is a deep purple color, or green, depending on the kind of açaí and its maturity. The mesocarp is pulpy and thin, with a consistent thickness of 1 mm or less. It surrounds the voluminous and hard endocarp which contains a seed with a diminutive embryo and abundant endosperm.Fact|date=February 2007 The seed makes up about 80% of the fruit (Schauss, 2006c).

The berries are harvested as food. In a study of three traditional Caboclo populations in the Amazon region of Brazil, açaí palm was described as the most important plant species because the fruit makes up such a major component of diet (up to 42% of the total food intake by weight) and is economically valuable in the region (Murrieta et al., 1999).

The juice and pulp of açaí fruits ("Euterpe oleracea") are frequently used in various juice blends, smoothies, sodas, and other beverages. In northern Brazil, açaí (or jussara, which is one of the fruit's common folk names) is traditionally served in gourds called "cuias" with tapioca and, depending on the local preference, can be consumed either salty or sweet (sugar, rapadura and honey are known to be used in the mix). Açaí has become popular in southern Brazil where it is consumed cold as açaí na tigela ("açaí in the bowl"), mostly mixed with granola — a fad in which açai is considered an energizer. Açaí is also widely consumed in Brazil as an ice cream flavor or juice.

As the high fat content of açaí (Nutritional content, below) indicates it would deteriorate rapidly after harvest, its raw material is generally available outside the immediate growing region only as juice or fruit pulp that has been frozen or processed as a pulp powder or freeze-dried powder. Several companies now manufacture juices, health drinks, yoghurts, and sorbets made from açaí berries, often in combination with other fruits.

Other uses

Apart from the use of its berries as food, the açai palm has other commercial uses. Leaves may be made into hats, mats, baskets, brooms and roof thatch for homes, and trunk wood, resistant to pests, for building construction (Silva, 2005).

Comprising 80% of the berry mass, seeds may be ground for livestock food or as a component of organic soil for plants. Planted seeds are used for new palm tree stock which, under the right growing conditions, requires months to form seedlings.Fact|date=August 2008

The seeds are a source of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6727398 Plotkin, M. J. and Balick, M. J. 1984. Medicinal uses of South American palms. J Ethnopharmacol 10: 157-79.] ] cite journal | title = Phytochemical and nutrient composition of the freeze-dried amazonian palmberry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (acai)| author= Schauss AG, Wu X, Prior RL, Ou B, Patel D, Huang D, Kababick JP | date = 2006 | journal = J Agric Food Chem | volume=54 | issue=22 | pages= 8598-8603 | url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17061839 | format= ] (Silva, 2005) and tree trunks may be processed to yield minerals (Dyer, 1996).

Nutritional content

Most of the research to date on açaí has focused on a particular freeze-dried form referred to as Opti-açaí. This powder preparation of freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was reported to contain (per 100 g of extract) 533.9 calories, 52.2 g carbohydrates, 8.1 g protein, and 32.5 g total fat. The carbohydrate portion included 44.2 g of fiber. The powder was also shown to contain (per 100 g): negligible vitamin C, 260 mg calcium, 4.4 mg iron, and 1002 U vitamin A, as well as aspartic acid and glutamic acid; the amino acid content was 7.59% of total dry weight.

Açaí has an exceptional content of fats, including oleic acid (56.2% of total), palmitic acid (24.1% of total), and linoleic acid (12.5% of total), and also contains a high amount of beta-sitosterol (78-91% of total sterols).cite journal | title = Fatty-acid, sterol and tocopherol composition of oil from the fruit mesocarp of 6 palm species in French-Guiana |accessdate =| author= Lubrano C, Robin JR, Khaiat A | date = 1994 | journal = Oleagineux | volume=49 | issue= | pages=59-6 | url= | format= ] These oil compartments in açaí fruit harbor dense contents of polyphenols such as procyanidin oligmers and vanillic acid, syringic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, and ferulic acid which were shown to degrade substantially during storage or exposure to heat. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18522407 Pacheco-Palencia LA, Mertens-Talcott S, Talcott ST. Chemical composition, antioxidant properties, and thermal stability of a phytochemical enriched oil from Acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.). J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Jun 25;56(12):4631-6.] ]

Antioxidants of açaí raw materials

A comparative analysis reported that açaí had intermediate antioxidant potency among a variety of frozen juice pulps tested. Antioxidant potency was: acerola > mango > strawberry > grapes > açaí > guava > mulberry > graviola > passion fruit > cupuaçu > pineapple.cite journal | title = Wild fruits and pulps of frozen fruits: antioxidant activity, polyphenols and anthocyanins |accessdate | author= Kuskoski EM, Asuero AG, Morales MT, Fett R | date = 2006 | journal = Cienc Rural | volume=36 | issue=4 (July/Aug)| pages= | url= http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-84782006000400037&lng=en&nrm=iso | format= ]

A powdered preparation of freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was shown to contain anthocyanins (3.19 mg/g), including cyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside, yet the contribution of anthocyanins to overall antioxidant capacity of açaí is only about 10%. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16019315 Lichtenthaler, R., Rodrigues, R. B., Maia, J. G., Papagiannopoulos, M., Fabricius, H., & Marx, F. (2005). Total oxidant scavenging capacities of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Acai) fruits. Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr. 56: 53-64.] ] The powdered preparation was also reported to contain twelve flavonoid-like compounds, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin deoxyhexose, isovitexin, scoparin, as well as proanthocyanidins (12.89 mg/g), and low levels of resveratrol (1.1 μg/g).

In a study of different açaí varieties for their antioxidant capacity, a white species displayed no antioxidant activity against different oxygen radicals, whereas the purple variety most often used commercially was excellent against peroxyl radicals, good against peroxynitrite and poor against hydroxyl radicals.

Freeze-dried açaí powder was found to have high antioxidant activity against superoxide (1614 units/g) and peroxyl radicals (1027 μmol TE/g) and milder activity for peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals.cite journal | title = Antioxidant capacity and other bioactivities of the freeze-dried amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (acai)| author= Schauss AG, Wu X, Prior RL, Ou B, Huang D, Owens J, Agarwal A, Jensen GS, Hart AN, Shanbrom E | date = 2006 | journal = J Agric Food Chem | volume=54 | issue=22 | pages= 8604-8610| url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17061840 | format= ] The powder was reported to inhibit hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidation in neutrophils, and to have a slight stimulatory effect on nitric oxide production by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages in vitro.

Extracts of açaí seeds were reported to have antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals, similar to the capacity of the pulp, with higher antioxidant capacity against peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16756342 Rodrigues, R. B., Lichtenthaler, R., Zimmermann, B. F., Papagiannopoulos, M., Fabricius, H., Marx, F., Maia, J. G. and Almeida, O. (2006). Total oxidant scavenging capacity of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (acai) seeds and identification of their polyphenolic compounds. J. Agric. Food Chem. 54: 4162-4167.] ]

Antioxidant activity of açaí juice

When three commercially available juice mixes containing unspecified percentages of açaí juice were compared for in vitro antioxidant capacity against red wine, tea, six types of pure fruit juice, and pomegranate juice with added antioxidants (provided by Pom Wonderful, the sponsor of the study), the average antioxidant capacity was ranked lower than that of the antioxidant enhanced pomegranate juice, Concord grape juice, blueberry juice, and red wine. The average was roughly equivalent to that of black cherry or cranberry juice, and was higher than that of orange juice, apple juice, and tea. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18220345 Seeram NP, Aviram M, Zhang Y, Henning SM, Feng L, Dreher M, Heber D. Comparison of antioxidant potency of commonly consumed polyphenol-rich beverages in the United States. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Feb 27;56(4):1415-22.] ] [ [http://www.pomwonderful.com/pdf/Antioxidant_Beverage_Study.pdf Pom Wonderful website. Reprint of the report by Seeram et al. Comparison of antioxidant potency of commonly consumed polyphenol-rich beverages in the United States. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Feb 27;56(4):1415-22.] ]

Studies have demonstrated that blood antioxidant capacity increases within two hours of consuming a commercial açaí juice. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18693743 Mertens-Talcott SU, Rios J, Jilma-Stohlawetz P, Pacheco-Palencia LA, Meibohm B, Talcott ST, Derendorf H. Pharmacokinetics of anthocyanins and antioxidant effects after the consumption of anthocyanin-rich acai juice and pulp (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) in human healthy volunteers. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Aug 12.] ]

Other research

Freeze-dried açaí powder was shown to have mild inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase enzymes COX-1 and COX-2, and chemically-extracted polyphenolic-rich fractions from açaí were reported to reduce the proliferation of HL-60 (experimental leukemia) cells in vitro. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16478240 Del Pozo-Insfran D, Percival SS, Talcott ST. Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) polyphenolics in their glycoside and aglycone forms induce apoptosis of HL-60 leukemia cells. J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Feb 22;54(4):1222-9.] ] In vitro anti-proliferative effects were also observed with extracts from açaí pulp oil. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18442253 Pacheco-Palencia LA, Talcott ST, Safe S, Mertens-Talcott S. Absorption and biological activity of phytochemical-rich extracts from açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) pulp and oil in vitro. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 May 28;56(10):3593-600.] ]

Orally-administered açaí has been tested as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of the gastrointestinal system. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15062934 Cordova-Fraga T, de Araujo DB, Sanchez TA, Elias J Jr, Carneiro AA, Brandt-Oliveira R, Sosa M, & Baffa, O. (2004). Euterpe oleracea (Acai) as an alternative oral contrast agent in MRI of the gastrointestinal system: preliminary results. Magn. Reson. Imaging. 22 (3): 389-93.] ] Its anthocyanins have also been characterized for stability as a natural food coloring agent. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15030208 Del Pozo-Insfran, D., Brenes, C. H. and Talcott, S. T. 2004. Phytochemical composition and pigment stability of Acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.). J Agric Food Chem 52: 1539-1545.] ]

ee also

*Superfruit

References

*Dyer, A. P. 1996. Latent energy in Euterpe oleracea. Biomass Energy Environ., Proc. Bioenergy Conf. 9th.
*Murrieta, R. S. S., Dufour, D. L. and Siqueira, A. D. 1999. Food consumption and subsistence in three Caboclo populations on Marajo Island, Amazonia, Brazil. Human ecology 27: 455-475.
*Riffle, R. L. and Craft, P. (2003). An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland, Timber Press.
*Silva, S. & Tassara, H. (2005). Fruit Brazil Fruit. São Paulo, Brazil, Empresa das Artes.

ee also

* [http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/wcsp/home.do Kew Checklist] (enter 'Euterpe' in search box)
* [http://nature.org/success/art15110.html Pictures of açaí palms trees and fruit] from an article by The Nature Conservancy.