Acai Berry Extract

Acai is the fruit of Euterpe oleracea Mart., a multi-stemmed Amazonian palm of the family Arecaceae harvested mainly in the Para and Amazonas estuary of northern Brazil. The edible portion is a thin purple-black pulp and skin surrounding a large seed, so yield per tonne of fruit is low and the raw material is priced accordingly. Thovek supplies the extract, not the raw drupe: pulp is depulped and water- or hydro-alcohol extracted at controlled temperature, then spray-dried onto a maltodextrin or acacia gum carrier to give a free-flowing purple to red-violet powder. Freeze-dried grades are available where the buyer wants the pigment profile handled as gently as possible. The compositional interest in acai sits in its anthocyanin and polyphenol fraction. Published analyses of acai pulp identify cyanidin-3-rutinoside as the dominant anthocyanin followed by cyanidin-3-glucoside, with freeze-dried pulp reported at around 127 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents per 100 g dry basis and total anthocyanins near 3.2 mg/g dry weight in other sample sets; proanthocyanidins and flavones such as orientin and homoorientin are also present. Because natural fruit levels vary by genotype, harvest and season, we standardise the traded article rather than quote the fruit: 1.0%, 2.0% or up to 5.0% total anthocyanins as cyanidin-3-glucoside by UV, with total polyphenols reported as gallic acid equivalents on the same certificate. Buyers who want a whole-fruit rather than an extract profile should ask for freeze-dried pulp powder, which is a different article commercially and for customs. One handling note matters for formulators. Native acai pulp is unusually lipid-rich for a berry, with freeze-dried pulp reported at roughly 49 g fat per 100 g dry basis, which is why undried pulp powders cake and why a carrier-borne spray-dried extract behaves far better in dry blends, sachets and tabletting. Anthocyanins are also pH- and light-sensitive, so the powder should be held in sealed, opaque packaging away from heat and formulated below pH 4 where colour stability is a concern. The material is entirely plant-derived and suits vegan, vegetarian, halal and kosher positioning; acai is a palm drupe and is not a tree nut for allergen labelling purposes. Conventional and NOP/EU organic certified lots are available, and Brazilian origin documentation travels with each consignment.