Background
- Better known for its fruit which tastes like a blend of berry and
chocolate, acai (also known as Euterpe oleracea) is a palm tree native to tropical
Central and South America. The acai fruit is a black-purple berry with the
seeds constituting about 80% of the fruit and is commercially
available in the form of juices, powders, tablets, or capsules1. - The bioactive substances in the acai tree’s fruit, pulp, seed, leaf, or root have been associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and cardioprotective activities1-4.
Safety
- Toxicology: No relevant information about açai-induced toxicity in human beings has been reported, however, acai fruit consumption has been associated with the oral transmission of Chaga´s disease5-8 caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.
- Adversary effects: No adverse effects were observed in healthy, overweight subjects when taking a frozen acai pulp product for 1 month9.
- Precautions/warnings/contraindications:
- Theoretically, additive effects may occur when used in combination with lipid-lowering agents9, or caffeine-containing products(if the acai product contains guarana, an herb that contains caffeine) 10.
- Acai may increase the risk of hypoglycemia when used in conjunction with blood-glucose-lowering agents10.
- Concurrent use of acai with agents that may increase potassium levels may increase the risk of hyperkalemia due to its high potassium content10.
- Acai fruit pulp has been used experimentally as an oral contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the digestive tract.
- Consuming acai might affect MRI test results since the clinical feasibility of acai pulp as an oral contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging has been reported11.
- Pregnancy and lactation: No safety data concerning acai could be found in the National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed).
Effectiveness
Randomized, controlled clinical trials of acai on metabolic syndrome12, arterial stiffness13, chronic tinnitus14 and oxidative stress15 were found on PubMed. The evidence of the effectiveness of acai for those conditions or diseases is insufficient because the trials involved < 100 participants12-14 or the dropout rate was > 20%(56 out of 125 participants dropped out)15. Although favorable effects were observed, well-designed clinical trials with more participants are needed for an effectiveness rating.
- Insufficient evidence
- Metabolic syndrome. Drinking 325 mL of acai-beverage twice a day (equivalent to 162.5 g of açaí pulp per day) for 12 weeks significantly reduced two functional biomarkers for a small group of participants (37) with metabolic syndrome12.
- Arterial stiffness. Intake of 200 grams of acai-jucara (anthocyanins 293.6 mg) reduced arterial stiffness for a small group of participants (55) with excess weight in a 12-week study13.
- Chronic tinnitus. Intake of 100 mg of acai extract for three months led to a reduction in the discomfort of tinnitus for a small group of participants14.
- Oxidative stress. The addition of 200 g of acai (684 mg gallic acid equivalents) to a hypoenergetic diet improved the oxidative stress and inflammatory status in overweight participants with dyslipidemia15.
References
- Yamaguchi KK, Pereira LF, Lamarão CV, Lima ES, da Veiga-Junior VF. Amazon acai: chemistry and biological activities: a review. Food Chem. 2015 Jul 15;179:137-51. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.01.055. Epub 2015 Feb 4. PMID: 25722148.
- de Oliveira PR, da Costa CA, de Bem GF, Cordeiro VS, Santos IB, de Carvalho LC, da Conceição EP, Lisboa PC, Ognibene DT, Sousa PJ, Martins GR, da Silva AJ, de Moura RS, Resende AC. Euterpe oleracea Mart.-Derived Polyphenols Protect Mice from Diet-Induced Obesity and Fatty Liver by Regulating Hepatic Lipogenesis and Cholesterol Excretion. PLoS One. 2015 Dec 2;10(12):e0143721. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143721. PMID: 26630290; PMCID: PMC4668108.
- 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 Sep 10;56(17):7796-802. doi: 10.1021/jf8007037. Epub 2008 Aug 12. PMID: 18693743.
- Menaa F. The berry fruit açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart): Bringing health benefits and exotism to the modern table. Adv Food Technol Nutr Sci Open J. 2014; 1(1): 1-4. doi: 10.17140/AFTNSOJ-1-101
- Pereira KS, Schmidt FL, Guaraldo AM, Franco RM, Dias VL, Passos LA . Chagas’ disease as a foodborne illness. J Food Prot. 2009; 72(2): 441-446
- Nóbrega AA, Garcia MH, Tatto E, et al. Oral transmission of Chagas disease by consumption of açaí palm fruit, Brazil. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009; 15(4): 653-655. doi: 10.3201/eid1504.081450
- Barbosa RL, Dias VL, Pereira KS, et al. Survival in vitro and virulence of Trypanosoma cruzi in açaí pulp in experimental acute Chagas disease. J Food Prot. 2012; 75(3): 601-606. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-11-233
- Souza-Lima RD, Barbosa MD, Coura JR, et al. Outbreak of acute Chagas disease associated with oral transmission in the Rio Negro region, Brazilian Amazon. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2013; 46(4): 510-514.
- Udani JK, Singh BB, Singh VJ, Barrett ML. Effects of Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) berry preparation on metabolic parameters in a healthy overweight population: a pilot study. Nutr J. 2011 May 12;10:45. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-10-45. PMID: 21569436; PMCID: PMC3118329.
- Ulbricht C, Brigham A, Burke D, Costa D, Giese N, Iovin R, Grimes Serrano JM, Tanguay-Colucci S, Weissner W, Windsor R. An evidence-based systematic review of acai (Euterpe oleracea) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. J Diet Suppl. 2012 Jun;9(2):128-47. doi: 10.3109/19390211.2012.686347. PMID: 22607647.
- Sanchez TA, Elias J Jr, Colnago LA, de Almeida Troncon LE, de Oliveira RB, Baffa O, de Araujo DB. Clinical feasibility of Açai (Euterpe olerácea) pulp as an oral contrast agent for magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography. J Comput Assist Tomogr. 2009 Sep-Oct;33(5):666-71. doi: 10.1097/RCT.0b013e31819012a0. PMID: 19820489.
- Kim H , Simbo SY , Fang C , McAlister L , Roque A , Banerjee N , Talcott ST , Zhao H , Kreider RB , Mertens-Talcott SU . Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) beverage consumption improves biomarkers for inflammation but not glucose- or lipid-metabolism in individuals with metabolic syndrome in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Food Funct. 2018 Jun 20;9(6):3097-3103. doi: 10.1039/c8fo00595h. PMID: 29850709.
- Arisi TOP, Gorski F, Eibel B, Barbosa E, Boll L, Waclawovsky G, Lehnen AM. Dietary intake of anthocyanins improves arterial stiffness, but not endothelial function, in volunteers with excess weight: A randomized clinical trial. Phytother Res. 2023 Mar;37(3):798-808. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7659. Epub 2022 Oct 7. PMID: 36206152.
- Oppitz SJ, Garcia MV, Bruno RS, Zemolin CM, Baptista BO, Turra BO, Barbisan F, Cruz IBMD, Silveira AFD. Supplementation with açaí (Euterpe Oleracea Martius) for the treatment of chronic tinnitus: effects on perception, anxiety levels and oxidative metabolism biomarkers. Codas. 2022 Jan 26;34(4):e20210076. doi: 10.1590/2317-1782/20212021076. PMID: 35107519; PMCID: PMC9886123.
- Aranha LN, Silva MG, Uehara SK, Luiz RR, Nogueira Neto JF, Rosa G, Moraes de Oliveira GM. Effects of a hypoenergetic diet associated with açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) pulp consumption on antioxidant status, oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers in overweight, dyslipidemic individuals. Clin Nutr. 2020 May;39(5):1464-1469. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2019.06.008. Epub 2019 Jun 12. PMID: 31307842.
Researched and summarized by Dr. Wei Lu, Feb 2024