Sierra Acai Company
Sierra Acai Company
Open 7 Days a Week
MonaVie Independent Distributor
Distributor Training
Shop Online
Enroll Now
Buy Wholesale and maintain an Active status for 2 months and we will refund your $39 Distributor Fee
Friends
Buy Wholesale and maintain an Active status for 2 months and we will refund your $39 Distributor Fee
14-September-2008 18:38:36 - Palm Redirected from Açaí Euterpe A grove of Açaí palms in Brazil A grove of Açaí palms in Brazil Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Genus: Euterpe Gaertn. Species Euterpe broadwayi Euterpe catinga Euterpe edulis Euterpe longibracteata Euterpe luminosa Euterpe oleracea Euterpe precatoria The açaí palm pronounced 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'. Contents 1 Harvesting and uses 1.1 Stem 1.2 Fruit 1.3 Other uses 2 Nutritional content 3 Antioxidants of açaí raw materials 4 Antioxidant activity of açaí juice 5 Other research 6 References 7 See also Harvesting and uses Stem Heart of palm, the soft inner growing tip of some palms Euterpe edulis, Euterpe oleracea, Bactris gasipaes, is often consumed in salads.citation needed Fruit açaí palm açaí palm Serving of açaí pulp Serving of açaí pulp 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.citation needed 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.citation needed The seeds are a source of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids12 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.2 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,2 and also contains a high amount of beta-sitosterol 78-91% of total sterols.23 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.4 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.5 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,2 yet the contribution of anthocyanins to overall antioxidant capacity of açaí is only about 10%.6 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.2 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.6 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.7 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.7 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.8 Antioxidant activity of açaí juice When a commercial açaí juice was compared for in vitro antioxidant capacity against nine other fruit juices, wine or tea, it ranked lower than pomegranate, Concord grape or blueberry juice and red wine, was the same as black cherry or cranberry juice, and was higher than orange or apple juice and tea.9 Studies have demonstrated that blood antioxidant capacity increases within two hours of consuming a commercial açaí juice.10 Other research Freeze-dried açaí powder was shown to have mild inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase enzymes COX-1 and COX-2,7 and chemically-extracted polyphenolic-rich fractions from açaí were reported to reduce the proliferation of HL-60 experimental leukemia cells in vitro.11 Similar anti-cancer effects in vitro were demonstrated with extracts from açaí pulp oil.12 Orally-administered açaí has been tested as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of the gastrointestinal system.13 Its anthocyanins have also been characterized for stability as a natural food coloring agent.14 References ^ Plotkin, M. J. and Balick, M. J. 1984. Medicinal uses of South American palms. J Ethnopharmacol 10: 157-79. ^ a b c d e f Schauss AG, Wu X, Prior RL, Ou B, Patel D, Huang D, Kababick JP 2006. Phytochemical and nutrient composition of the freeze-dried amazonian palmberry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. acai. J Agric Food Chem 54 22: 8598-8603. ^ Lubrano C, Robin JR, Khaiat A 1994. Fatty-acid, sterol and tocopherol composition of oil from the fruit mesocarp of 6 palm species in French-Guiana. Oleagineux 49: 59-6. ^ 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;5612:4631-6. ^ Kuskoski EM, Asuero AG, Morales MT, Fett R 2006. Wild fruits and pulps of frozen fruits: antioxidant activity, polyphenols and anthocyanins. Cienc Rural 36 4 July/Aug. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c Schauss AG, Wu X, Prior RL, Ou B, Huang D, Owens J, Agarwal A, Jensen GS, Hart AN, Shanbrom E 2006. Antioxidant capacity and other bioactivities of the freeze-dried amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. acai. J Agric Food Chem 54 22: 8604-8610. ^ 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. ^ 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;564:1415-22. ^ 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. Epub ahead of print ^ 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;544:1222-9. ^ 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;5610:3593-600. ^ 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. ^ 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. 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. See also Kew Checklist enter 'Euterpe' in search box Pictures of açaí palms trees and fruit from an article by The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved from http://en..org/wiki/A%C3%A7a%C3%AD_Palm Categories: Euterpe | Flora of Brazil | Fruit | Medicinal plants | Trees of South America | Native crops of Brazil | Native crops of PeruHidden categories: All articles with statements | Articles with statements since July 2007 | Articles with statements since February 2007 | Articles with statements since August 2008 Views Article Discussion this page History Personal tools Log in / create account Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Search Go Search Interaction Community portal Recent changes Contact Donate to Help Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Printable version Permanent link Cite this page Languages Deutsch Español Esperanto Français עברית Magyar 日本語 Português Simple English This page was last modified on 12 September 2008, at 07:12
39 Reasons to Drink Acai Juice Every Day
What is MonaVie - Watch the 8-minute video
Discovering MonaVie Video
The Power of You Video
Effects of MonaVie Active on Antioxidant Capacity in Humans
Log into your Wholesale MonaVie Account
So many of us do not eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep, have too much stress, or are impacted with toxins and pollutants. Drinking 2 ounces of MonaVie twice a day will help your body detoxify as well as build your immune system. Its the smartest thing you can do for yourself, so start today. Buying MonaVie through our company guarantees you support 7 days a week and, if you would like to share MonaVie with your family and friends we will guide you from start to finish.
1. Click on Enroll Now (30 - 55% off retail price)
2. Pay $39 for your Wholesale ID number.
3. NO minimum order required.
4. MonaVie is delivered to your door in 3 to 5 days.