An extract of the palm acau00ed berry (Euterpe oleraceae Mart.) inhibits beta-amyloid protein aggregation, in a lab model.
The South American palm acaí berry (Euterpe oleraceae Mart.) is abundant in polyphenols and other antioxidants. Daphne Wong, from the University of Adelaide (Australia), and colleagues employed a laboratory model of Alzheimer’s Disease, in which cells were pretreated with acai extract and then exposed to a specific form of beta-amyloid. The team found that the acai extract inhibited the aggregation of beta-amyloid proteins, thereby preventing brain cell damage and death from oxidative stress. The study authors report that: “In comparison with other phenolics, acaí was most effective at inhibiting [beta-amyloid] aggregation. Inhibition of β-amyloid aggregation may underlie a neuroprotective effect of acaí.”
