Acai, a Brazilian palm berry sweeping the globe in commonly used foods – juices, beverages, smoothies and frozen treats -- now may have its purported benefits better understood. In the first research involving people, the acai berry has proven its ability to be absorbed in the human body when consumed both as juice and pulp.
Researchers at Texas A&M University’s nutrition and food science department conducted a trial giving acai pulp and acai juice. Both showed significant absorption of antioxidant anthocyanins into the blood and antioxidant effects. Now they need to determine potential disease-fighting health benefits to they can make intelligent recommendations on how much acai should be consumed.