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20-September-2008 09:29:08 - 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 Antioxidant phytochemicals 4 Other research 5 References 6 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 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 açaí deteriorates rapidly after harvest,citation needed its raw material is generally available outside the immediate growing region only as juice or fruit pulp that has been frozen, dried, or freeze-dried. 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 used for making hats, mats, baskets, brooms and roof thatch for homes, and trunk wood, resistant to pests, for building construction Silva, 2005. Comprising 90% 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 only months to form seedlings.citation needed The seeds are a source of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids see below; Plotkin, 1984; Silva, 2005; Schauss et al., 2006a. Nutritional content Most of the research to date on acai has focused on a particular freeze-dried form referred to as Opti-acai. 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 Schauss et al. 2006a. 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 totalled 7.59% of the total dry weight. Açaí also contains oleic acid 56.2% of total fat, palmitic acid 24.1% of total fat, and linoleic acid 12.5% of total fat. Schauss et al. 2006a. Acai also contains beta-sitosterol 78-91% of total sterols Lubrano, 1994; Schauss 2006a. Antioxidant phytochemicals A study using a standardized freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin powder found the total anthocyanin levels to be 319 mg per 100 grams Schauss et al., 2006a. Cyandin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside are major açaí anthocyanins; however, the contribution of anthocyanins to the overall antioxidant capacities of acai are estimated to be only approximately 10%. 1. Twelve other flavonoid-like compounds have also been detected, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin deoxyhexose, isovitexin and scoparin, and several unknown flavonoids Schauss et al. 2006a. Proanthocyanidins, another group of polyphenolic compounds high in antioxidant value, totalled 1,289 mg per 100 grams of the freeze-dried pulp/skin powder, with a profile similar to that of blueberries Schauss et al., 2006a. Resveratrol was additionally found to be present in acai in this study, although at low levels of 1.1 microgram per gram. A study of the oxygen radical absorbance capacity ORAC of freeze-dried açaí pulp/skin powder reported high antioxidant activity against peroxyl radical 1027 micromol TE/g. The ORAC value for this freeze-dried powder was significantly higher than when other methods of drying the fruit were tested Schauss, 2006c. The freeze-dried powder also showed very high activity against superoxide, with a SOD assay level of 1614 units/g. Antioxidant activity against both peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals was also observed, although effects were milder than that seen against peroxyl radical and superoxide. Additionally, antioxidant molecules from the freeze-dried powder were shown to penetrate freshly obtained human neutrophils and inhibit oxidation induced by hydrogen peroxide at acai powder concentrations as low as 0.1 part per trillion Schauss et al., 2006b. A previous report using a total oxygen scavenging capacity assay also found that açaí has extremely high antioxidant effects against peroxyl radical, as well as a high capacity against peroxynitrite, and a poor capacity against hydroxyl radical when compared with other fruit and vegetable juices2 . Schauss et al. 2006b also utilized the Total Antioxidant or TAO assay to differentiate the fast-acting measured at 30 seconds and slow-acting measured at 30 minutes antioxidant levels present in freeze-dried powder. Acai was found to have a higher slow-acting antioxidant components, suggesting a more sustained antioxidant effect compared to fast-acting components. Antioxidant values of the seeds of the açaí fruit have also been reported Rodrigues, 2006. The extracts exhibited good antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals, similar to the capacity of the pulp, with higher antioxidant capacity against peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals. Other research Freeze-dried acai fruit pulp was shown to have mild inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 Schauss et al., 2006b, both of which have roles in acute and chronic inflammation. Lower concentrations of the freeze-dried pulp were found to be slightly stimulating to macrophages in vitro. Macrophages are white blood cells that are an important part of the immune system of the body. Also in macrophages, freeze-dried açaí pulp was found to inhibit the production of nitric oxide induced by LPS, found in gram negative bacteria cell membrane Schauss et al. 2006b. This effect increased as the concentration of the açaí increased. In 2006, a study performed at the University of Florida showed that açaí fractions containing polyphenolics could reduce proliferation of HL-60 leukemia cells in vitro.citation needed Orally-administered açaí has been tested as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of the gastrointestinal system Cordova-Fraga et al., 2004. Its anthocyanins have been characterized for stability as a natural food coloring agent Del Pozo-Insfran et al., 2004. Due to the large amount of waste that accumulates during the harvesting of hearts of palm, sawdust from left-over trunks of the açaí palms has been analyzed for possible uses, including energy utilization. The inner layer of the trunk is mineral-rich, and is significantly higher in all the minerals that were tested including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron compared to the outer layer of the tree. This inner layer could potentially be used as a source for these minerals. Ash content often used as an alkaline source for saponification or in plant fertilizers was also higher in the inner section of the tree. Levels of lignins, cellulose, holocellulose and gross heat production were slightly higher in the outer trunk layers, and cellulose levels were fairly high overall Dyer, 1996. References June 2007 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. 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. Lubrano, C., Robin, J. R., and Khaiat, A. 1994. Fatty-acid, sterol and tocopherol composition of oil from the fruit mesocarp of 6 palm species in French-Guiana. Oleagineux 49: 59-65. Del Pozo-Insfran, D., Brenes, C. H. and Talcott, S. T. 2004. Phytochemical composition and pigment stability of Acai Euterpe oleracea Mart.. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52: 1539-1545. Del Pozo-Insfran, D., Percival, S. S., Talcott, S. T. 2006. Acai Euterpe oleracea Mart. polyphenolics in their glycoside and aglycone forms induce apoptosis of HL-60 leukemia cells. J. Agric. Food Chem. 54 4: 1222-1229. 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. Plotkin, M. J. and Balick, M. J. 1984. Medicinal uses of South American palms. J Ethnopharmacol 10: 157-79. Riffle, R. L. and Craft, P. 2003. An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland, Timber Press. 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. Schauss, A. G., Wu, X., Prior, R. L., Ou, B., Patel, D., Huang, D., Kababick, J. P. 2006a. Phytochemical and nutrient composition of the freeze-dried amazonian palmberry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. acai. J. Agric. Food Chem. 54 22: 8598-8603. Schauss, A. G., Wu, X., Prior, R. L., Ou, B., Huang, D., Owens, J., Agarwal, A., Jensen, G. S., Hart, A. N., Shanbrom, E. 2006b. Antioxidant capacity and other bioactivities of the freeze-dried amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. acai. J. Agric. Food Chem. 54 22: 8604-8610. Schauss, A. G., 2006c. Acai Euterpe oleracea: An Extraordinary Antioxidant-Rich Palm Fruit. Biosocial Publications. 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 | Articles needing additional references from June 2007 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 Magyar 日本語 Português Simple English This page was last modified on 15 August 2008, at 20:25
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