Acai: Tropical Fruit Vying for Stardom in Crowded Antioxidant Field

You may have heard some buzz about acai (pronounced “a-say-ee”) -- the latest rage in the supplements industry.

It’s not so different from yesterday’s rage about noni and mangosteen, the demand for which created multimillion dollar markets practically overnight.

With consumers convinced that the elusive “fountain of youth” elixir exists somewhere in the tropics and with marketers hoping to make the next big killing, acai is today’s rising star.

As you know, this kat tends to be a little suspicious when it comes to fads and industry hoopla. So, here’s a little background on the promise of acai and the perils of believing everything you’re reading.

Acai palm trees reside in the swamplands of southern Brazil, and bear deep-purple fruit, packed with immune-boosting anthocyanins, and enjoyed regularly by locals in beverages.

If blueberries are good for you, something from the Amazon’s fierce environment must be infinitely better, right? The promoters of acai are feeding the frenzy, citing amazingly high ORAC values (oxygen radical absorbency capacity) for acai. And, so the hype-fest is on.

Fast fact: ORAC values are measured by a single laboratory, Brunswick Laboratories. They state on their home page that, “ORAC assays are performed in vitro, in the test tube, and therefore do not determine the bioavailability within the body.” Another little-known fact is that vitamin C, an excellent and inexpensive antioxidant, yields scores of zero (zip, nada) on ORAC assays.

So, it’s starting to sound like acai’s press might be too good to be true, right? This kat thought so too and did some investigating. Several problems emerge when one considers the science, including:

1. Anthocyanins in acai fruit are highly unstable and degrade easily in the presence of heat, humidity, and even enzymes within the fruit. The fruit is considered highly perishable and changes color, taste, and anthocyanin content within a mere 12 hours.

2. Clinical studies of significance are still ahead.

3. There are no proven testing methods to determine quality of raw materials or the amount of active ingredients. Beware the untestable raw material, as you’ll never know whether you’re buying acai, glammed up blueberries, or purple powder in disguise!

Sadly, at this point there’s no way to know if the acai on the market is of good quality or merits genuine stardom just yet.

So, for right now, we’ll be holding out for better research and certainly for valid, peer-reviewed testing methods.

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