Acai Berry Nutrition Information

Acai berry is a good source of fiber and omega fatty acid and also low in its net carbohydrate. Nutritional analysis has been done on powdered freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin from Opti-açaí. The calories per 100 g of dry powder are 533.9 calories while the protein and total fat are 8.1 g and 32.5 g respectively. The total carbohydrates for 100g of dry powder are 52.2 g, where 44.2 g is taken up by the dietary fiber.

56.2% of total fats in acai berry is taken up by oleic acid (omega-9 fatty acid) while 12.5% is linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid), and 24.1% is palmitic acid. It also contains beta-sitosterol. Polyphenols such as procyanidin oligomers and vanillic acid, syringic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, and ferulic acid can also be found in açaí fruit. Other nutrients found in per 100 g of dry powder include 260 mg calcium, 4.4 mg iron, 1002 U vitamin A, negligible vitamin C, as well as aspartic acid and glutamic acid.

In vitro studies reported that açai has polyphenol content and antioxidant potency, which can be found in the fruit pulp, skin and its seed. It contains a little of anthocyanins, various flavonoids (such as homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin, deoxyhexose, isovitexin, scoparin and proanthocyanidins) and low levels of resveratrol. In vitro study done in evaluating its antioxidant capacity reveals that it has antioxidant activity against peroxyl radicals but has little activity against peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals. Antioxidant properties are also found in acai berry juice. The antioxidant capacity of the juice is equivalent to that of cranberry juice, higher than orange or apple juice and tea, but lower than blueberry juice and red wine.

In vitro studies found out that freeze-dried açai powder has mild inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 and the extracts from açai pulp oil has anti-proliferative effects on HL-60 (Human promyelocytic leukemia cells). Dry açai pulp is also found to be able to reduce the blood cholesterol level. Acai berry is also tested for its usage as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of GI (gastrointestinal system) whereby patient taking it orally.

References:

• Wikipedia-Acai Palm
• Del Pozo-Insfran D, Percival SS, Talcott ST (Feb 2006). "Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) polyphenolics in their glycoside and aglycone forms induce apoptosis of HL-60 leukemia cells". J Agric Food Chem.
• Seeram NP, Aviram M, Zhang Y, et al. (Feb 2008). "Comparison of antioxidant potency of commonly consumed polyphenol-rich beverages in the United States". J Agric Food Chem.

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This page was last modified on: December 09, 2011