| The acai berries are the produce of palm trees in Brazil. They are grape-like berries nearly the same size as the blueberry and purple in color. Acai berries are characterized by large seeds as the pomegranate and a thin layer of pulp. The juice of the acai fruit is called ‘the milk of Amazon’ by the Brazilians and is known to treat digestive and skin related problems.
The potency of antioxidants in acai berries is ten times more than that of grapes and twice the number in blueberries. Thus it is not a wonder that acai has gained so much popularity and is available in stores across the United States.
Not only are the acai berries a good source of antioxidants, they are packed with omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, vitamins A, C and E and several other nutrients. As per the acai berry research, it has been found that acai berry is helpful in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels as it has high anti-inflammatory and high anti bacterial properties. Recent studies have shown that the acai berry extract has high anticancer properties.
Freeze-drying and spray drying are the two processes that are used to preserve the nutritional properties of the acai fruit. Although the freeze-dried form is more nutritious than its spray dried counterpart, freeze-drying is ten times more costly than spray drying. Although not an uncommon attitude, the companies promoting the sales of the frozen acai rely mainly on hearsay rather than performing tests for verifying the findings.
In recent years, the demand and supply of acai berry has increased manifold. It has caught the attention of health care professionals and nutrition experts all around the globe as being a super food and a super health supplement. Constant researches are being carried out to find ways to preserve the nutritional qualities of this fruit which are compromised due to the preservation techniques. The constant findings are further leading to extensive demand of the acai fruit in the health care market.