Acai: The Super Antioxidant From Brazil

Acai is an Amazonian palm tree, and possesses small purple

fruits that the Amazonian natives of Brazil have used since time

immemorial as food and as a remedy for certain health conditions

that are now known to be associated with the activity on free

radicals on body cells.

The active constituents of acai are powerful polyphenols and

anthocyanin antioxidants that protect your body cells from

oxidation by free radicals. In fact the plant has been referred

to as `the super antioxidant from Brazil’ by many medical

writers who have recognized its right to be termed as such. To

understand that, you first have to understand what an

antioxidant is and how it works. The chemical names of the

active substances it contains will be meaningless without that

background knowledge.

Oxidation occurs in your body even before you are born. What is

does in general terms is to destroy your body cells, and the

more it progresses the more your body is prone to cancers and

cardiovascular diseases, and the more visible becomes the aging

process. Chemically, oxidation is the loss of one or more

electrons by an atom or molecule. Oxidation within your body is

highly associated with what are known as free radicals. To

explain these we have to consider the chemistry of electron

pairs and free radicals, though this is not too technical so

read on.

Normally electrons exist in pairs of opposite spin: in simple

terms each pair makes up a single negative charge. Take

hydrogen: its atomic structure contains one proton and one

electron. However, the hydrogen atom cannot exist by itself

since the most stable configuration is that electrons exist in

pairs with a net zero spin, so the hydrogen molecule consists of

two hydrogen atoms with their own protons sharing an electron

pair. This is true of all covalently bonded molecules.

However, certain influences, such as pollution through tobacco

smoke, pesticides, engine exhausts and the excess UV radiation

of sunlight can cause a molecule to lose an electron. This

creates what is known as a free radical: a molecule without an

electrical charge but with an unpaired electron. Since the most

stable configuration for it is to have a paired electron, the

molecule will steal an electron from the most suitable candidate

it finds.

In practise this will be a body cell, and the cell that loses

the electron gets destroyed causing aging of the skin and many

other undesirable effects, including cancers. This stealing of

an electron is chemically referred to as oxidation. Antioxidants

prevent this occurring to your body cells by being reactive

themselves and preferentially mopping up these free electrons.

Polyphenols and anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants, and

that is why the people of the Amazon rainforests have used acai

not only as a food, but also for their health. It is only

relatively recently that, as with many of the ancient health

remedies, the scientific basis behind its use has been proved.

The early Brazilian natives may not have understood biochemistry

or what free radicals were, but they sure knew what was good for

them.

As with many other foodstuffs containing powerful antioxidants,

it is likely that it was the highly colored berries that first

attracted them. That does not suggest that all brightly colored

foods are good for you, but the brightly colored pigments and

dyestuffs contained within them also tend to act as antioxidants

due the same electron configuration that provides them with

their color. Many of these chemicals are also use as food dyes,

and have been used so since before their chemistry and

antioxidant effects were known. The color comes from the same

electron activity that makes them destroy free radicals. That is

why most highly colored foods contain significant quantities of

phytochemicals.

The deep purple color of the acai fruit led chemists to

determine its content of polyphenols, such as anthocyanins, that

are common in other highly colored foods such blueberries,

peppers and aubergines. High concentrations of anthocyanins such

as cyandin-3-glucoside and the rutinoside analogue were found,

together with flavonoids such as orientin, deoxyhexose and

scoparin. A total of twelve flavonoids were discovered that

explains the highly antioxidant properties of the fruits.

Laboratory and other tests have indicated that over 80% of the

antioxidant effect of acai is due to polyphenols other than the

anthocyanins. It is likely that these are the twelve flavonoids

identified to date and any others that have still to be

detected.

However, it is not only for its antioxidant properties that

acai is such a healthy fruit, since it contains many other

nutritional components. It contains fatty acids, including

linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid and also beta-sitosterol

that are believed to reduce the level of LDL cholesterol in the

blood. The fruit also contains a high level of amino acids,

essential for the synthesis of proteins and DNA.

So what exactly does this mean for you in real terms?

Antioxidants can do different things for different people, and

the acai berry is said to have more than thirty times the

antioxidant power of red wine. When you consider that many

doctors believe one glass of red wine to provide sufficient

antioxidant for the average person, you are getting a very high

dose with acai berries, so what does it do for you?

Due its effect in destroying the free radicals caused by

pollution, acai and similar powerful sources of antioxidants are

becoming increasingly important to our diets. What was a

sufficient antioxidant intake even twenty years ago is not

longer sufficient. Acai can help to combat early aging by

reducing the rate at which your body cells are destroyed by free

radicals. It also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease,

and the associated high risk of strokes or heart attacks.

Acai juice itself has an unusually high fiber content, and

helps maintain the health of your digestive system. An

associated benefit of this is that you are less liable to

contract colon cancer than if you did not consume it. Due to a

reduction in the rate of destruction of body cells, including

brain cells, elderly people benefit through maintenance of their

brain function, and a lower likelihood of degenerating cognitive

ability. It helps you to maintain concentration and memory, and

can also reduce the risk of you getting cataracts.

Antioxidants are also known to help maintain the immune system,

and act as anti-inflammatories, and it is believed that acai

juice can help to reduce the symptoms of arthritis. If you use

acai berries as part of a daily diet, you should receive the

benefits that it provides, although a more measured dosage in

the form of a supplement will enable you to control your intake

of acai, and if one thing is certain it is that you will be far

healthy with a regular dose of the superantioxidant from Brazil

than without.

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