SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—According to a study published in Nutrition Journal, consumption of acai fruit pulp reduced levels of selected markers of metabolic disease risk in overweight adults, indicating that further studies are warranted (2011;10(45)).  The open-label pilot study gave 10 overweight adults 100 mg of acai pulp (as Sambazon açaí frozen fruit pulp) twice daily for one month. The response of blood glucose, blood pressure and exhaled nitric oxide metabolites (eNO) to a standardized meal was determined at baseline and following 30 days of treatment.

Compared to baseline, there were reductions in fasting glucose and insulin levels following the 30-day treatment (both P<0.02). There was also a reduction in total cholesterol (P=0.03), as well as borderline significant reductions in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (both P=0.051). Compared to baseline, treatment with acai ameliorated the after-meal increase in plasma glucose following the standardized meal. There was no effect on blood pressure, high sensitivity C-reactive protein or eNO.

“The initial clinical trial results were overwhelmingly positive and show the potential of whole açaí fruit pulp to reduce risk factors associated with metabolic disorders in mildly overweight adults," explained Jack F. Bukowski, M.D., Ph.D., a member of Sambazon’s scientific advisory board and current director of the Nutritional Science Research Institute. “Given the growing incidence of metabolic disorders, including obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the United States, this study warrants the need for additional research to fully explore the açaí berry’s health benefits."