Lee Swanson Research Update Acaì Compound Shows Potent Anti-Inflammatory Activity

valderama Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:10 am

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Lee Swanson Research Update

Acaì Compound Shows Potent Anti-Inflammatory Activity

December 2011

The potential heart-health benefits of acaì and its extracts may be linked to the potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of a compound called velutin, new research suggests.

Results of a cell study indicated that velutin displayed even stronger anti-inflammatory effects than known anti-inflammatory flavonoids like luteolin and apigenin, according to findings published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

The study represents first time that the potent anti-inflammatory properties of the compound have been reported, said scientists from the USDA and the University of Arkansas.

Acaì berries have long formed part of the staple diet of Indian tribes. With the appearance of a purple grape and taste of a tropical berry, it has been shown to have powerful antioxidant properties thanks to a high level of anthocyanins, pigments that are also present in red wine.

Dr. Alex Schauss, co-author of the study, said the study's findings were significant because they help us "to understand in part why acaì pulp when fed to ApoE-/+ mice caused such significant inhibition of atherosclerotic lesions in the paper we published earlier this year in Atherosclerosis."

"The finding is also of importance in offering us an understanding of how this low molecular weight compound could, along with other flavones found in acaì, exhibit strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant inhibitory properties in the brain that has a bearing on the progression of neurodegenerative diseases," Dr. Schauss added.

The researchers isolated velutin from acaì fruit pulp and examined its effects in cell studies. Cells called macrophages were exposed to a compound called lipopolysaccharide to induce the cells to produce inflammatory compounds in the presence or absence of velutin and compared with other flavones with similar chemical structures (luteolin, apigenin and chrysoeriol). Velutin was found to perform even better than the other flavones tested.

"The present study led to the discovery of a strong anti-inflammatory flavone, velutin," wrote the researchers.

Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry; Published online ahead of print