Acai Oil
Appearance/form: Viscous green liquid
Saponification Value: 175-195
SAP VALUE (NaOH): 0.138
SAP VALUE (KOH) 0.193
INCI: Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil
CAS No: 861902-11-6
Iodine Value: 0.70-0.90
Family: Arecacea
Extraction: Cold Pressed
Acai, a berry grown on the acai palm tree (Euterpe oleracea), belongs to the family Arecacea which is one of the largest botanical families in World. It occurs naturally in the Amazon region and is native to tropical Central and South America. Acai grows mainly in floodplain forests of the Amazon estuary that extends to Venezuela and Guyana. The acai plant grows 15 to 25 meters in height, often taking 4-5 years to start producing the edible berry-like fruit. The flowers are small in size and brown to purple in color. The seeds constituting about 80% of the fruit. The fruit of the açai palm tree (known as açai berries) have considerable potential for the development of new medicines, and it has received a great deal of attention in recent years because of the health benefits associated with high anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-proliferative activity. Various laboratory studies have also highlighted it’s anti-cancer activity.
Chemistry
The acai fruit is rich in phenolic compounds. These phenolic compounds include vanillic acid, syringic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid and ferulic acid as well as (+)-catechin and numerous procyanidin oligomers. The oil of Euterpe oleracea is a complex mixture of un-saturated fatty acids with oleic acid being the major compound.
A study conducted by Lubrano et al. (1994) to detect the fatty acids in acai oil, concluded that acai oil is composed of oleic acid (60%), palmitic acid (22%), linoleic acid (12%) and palmitoleic acid (6%). In the same way, oleic acid (60%), palmitic acid (22%), palmitoleic acid (2%), linoleic acid (12%), stearic acid (2%) and arachidic acid (2.5%) have been identified in other reports.
Another study also detected the presence of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and trace minerals, including chromium, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus.
Fatty Acid Profile
Acai Oil Fatty Acid Profile
Cosmetic Uses
As a rich source of fatty acids and anti-oxidants, acai oil has a lot of benefits for skin and hair. Acai oil helps in the prevention of early signs of skin aging and also aids in skin regeneration. The national Institute for Health (NIH) evaluated the positive effect in the healing of skin wounds and found that levels of anti-oxidants present in acai oil protect the skin from environmental aggressors and help with skin regeneration.
The oil is also loaded with various vitamins which reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and skin discoloration and it is also thought to help protect the skin against UV damage.
Acai Oil is great for hair. Because it is rich in antioxidants, it helps with strengthening and promoting hair growth, it helps to protect hair strands and decreases frizz.
References
Chemical Composition, Antioxidant Properties, and Thermal Stability of a Phytochemical Enriched Oil from Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) Lisbeth A. Pacheco-Palencia, Susanne Mertens-Talcott and Stephen T. Talcott
Anti-infl ammatory and antinociceptive activities 21(1): 105-114, Jan./Feb. 2011 of Euterpe oleracea oil Hugo A. S. Favacho,1,2 Bianca R. Oliveira,1 Kelem C. Santos,1 Benedito J. L. Medeiros,1 Pergentino J. C. Sousa,3 Fabio F. Perazzo,4 José Carlos T. Carvalho*
EVALUATION OF THE COMPOSITION OF ACAI BERRY OIL (Euterpe oleracea) SUBMITTED TO STERILIZATION Ana Carolina H. R. Machado, Ademar B. Lugão, Sizue O. Rogero, José Oscar V. Bustillos, Maria Aparecida F. Pires
An Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Acai (Euterpe oleracea) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration Catherine Ulbricht, PharmD1,2, Ashley Brigham, PharmD2, Dilys Burke2, Dawn Costa2, Nicole Giese, MS2, Ramon Iovin, PhD2, Jill M. Grimes Serrano, PhD2, Shaina Tanguay-Colucci2, Wendy Weissner2, & Regina Windsor, MPH2
Antioxidant Capacity and Other Bioactivities of the Freeze-Dried Amazonian Palm Berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (Acai) ALEXANDER G. SCHAUSS,*,† XIANLI WU, ‡,§ RONALD L. PRIOR, ‡ BOXIN OU, ⊥ DEJIAN HUANG, | JOHN OWENS, ∇ AMIT AGARWAL, # GITTE S. JENSEN, X AARON N. HART, X AND EDWARD SHANBROM∇