Acai Berry

Acai Berry has been found to have antioxidant properties (1). It has been found to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors which includes; Hypertension, high cholesterol and possibly a key factor in helping populations with diabetes (2).

The mechanisms for how it can achieve this is by reducing free radical generation which in turn lowers blood pressure (3). Research is rather limited to the specific berry, including the dosage amount that is need to generate a positive effect.

Most studies have used 100g dosages which can be more than what is included in supplements. More research is needed to elucidate its effects, (4).

                                + Reduces Blood pressure                                                                     – More Research needed                                            +  Reduces cholesterol                                                                        – No clear guidelines on effective dosage                           +   Antioxidant properties                                                     – Lack of dedicated studies to Acai Berry

1 – Hogan, S., Chung, H., Zhang, L., Li, J., Lee, Y., Dai, Y., & Zhou, K. (2010). Antiproliferative and antioxidant properties of anthocyanin-rich extract from açai. Food Chemistry, 118(2), 208-214.

2 – Schauss, A. G., Wu, X., Prior, R. L., Ou, B., Patel, D., Huang, D., & Kababick, J. P. (2006). Phytochemical and nutrient composition of the freeze-dried Amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart.(Acai). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54(22), 8598-8603.

3 –  Youdim, K. A., McDonald, J., Kalt, W., & Joseph, J. A. (2002). Potential role of dietary flavonoids in reducing microvascular endothelium vulnerability to oxidative and inflammatory insults☆. The Journal of nutritional biochemistry, 13(5), 282-288.

4 – Basu, A., Rhone, M., & Lyons, T. J. (2010). Berries: emerging impact on cardiovascular health. Nutrition reviews, 68(3), 168-177.