ACAI BERRIES: acai berry, acai or asai (euterpe oleracea). ID: 42-79

Also found in Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. This palm is a slender tree that reaches 25 m in height while its leaves reach 3 m in length. The acai berry, although a berry, looks like an olive tree about two and a half centimeters in size, while the seed makes up 80% of the fruit.

Properties: Contains many vitamins, omega fats, amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals, fiber, sterols and has a strong antioxidant effect. It raises libido, strengthens the immune system, benefits the heart, helps the intestine, contributes to weight loss, moisturizes the skin, strengthens muscles and detoxifies the body.

Active ingredients: cyanidine glucoside and cyanidine rutinoside as major anthocyanins (3.19 mg / g). The powdered preparation was also reported to contain twelve flavonoids such as compounds including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin deoxyexose, vitexin, scoparin, as well as proanthocyanidins (12.89 mg / g), and low resveratrol levels (1.1 mg / g). A pulverized dried fruit preparation contains (per 100 g of dry powder) 534 calories, 52 g of carbohydrates, 8 g of protein and 33 g of total fat. The carbohydrate portion contained 44 g of low-sugar dietary fiber, and the fat portion consisted of oleic acid (56% of total fats), palmitic acid (24%) and linoleic acid (13%). The powder was also shown to contain (per 100 g) negligible vitamin C, 260 mg of calcium, 4 mg of iron and 1002 IU of vitamin A.

How to use: Eat the fruits plain, mix their powder in prepared food, water, smoothie, juice, milk, yogurt, etc.