Açaì

Scientific name: Euterpe oleraceae Mart

Common name: Açai

This tropical palm is a member of the Ramnaceae. It grows up to 25 meters with a slender, gray stem marked with ringed scars from old leaves. The glossy, alternate leaves can reach 3 meters in length. The cream-colored, branched inflorescences, about 3 feet long, grow below the leaves. Its fame comes from its berries: small, globular fruits, ripening green to purple-black, with a single seed.

Açaí was recently discovered when ethno-botanical research found it to be one of the most nutritious fruits of the Amazon Rainforest. Since then, açaí has gone from being a secret of the Amazon to forming the basis of the diet of top athletes in Brazil and then around the world. Indigenous people traditionally use it to treat digestive dysfunction or skin diseases. The nutritional and cosmetic properties of its purplish fruits are now taking the world market by storm.

80% of the açai fruit consists of the seed, from which an oil is extracted. It’s sold for its richness in polyphenols and acids such as vanillic, hydrobenzoic, sirigic, and ferulic, and especially omega-9. The pulp of the fruit is not sweet at all, and is mostly processed to make juice or powder. In recent years, it became popular in the markets of Western countries as a processed product (bars, concentrates, extracts, juices, supplements) ideal for athletes and those trying to lose weight. The fruit is very rich in gut-regulating fiber, has a good range of vitamins and strong antioxidant properties. These come from about seventy active ingredients found only in this fruit, which regenerate the physique by helping it fight the signs of aging.