Acai Berry Increases Fruit fly Lifespan

Results of a study by scientists at Emory School of Medicine have revealed that a commercially available acai berry product can significantly lengthen the lifespan of fruit flies. Postdoctoral fellow Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer, and colleagues studied the effect of the acai berry product on fruit flies with mutations in the p38 MAP kinase gene, which have shorter lives than normal fruit flies and are more sensitive to heat, food deprivation, and oxidative stress. Study results showed that P38 mutant flies lived an average of only 8 days when fed a simple sugar water diet. However, when their diet was supplemented with acai berry their average lifespan tripled. Acai also increased the lifespan of normal fruit flies, with the lifespan of male fruit flies almost doubling with acai (20 to 40 days). However, the effects on female flies were not as impressive, with average lifespan increasing from 30 to 34 days. Acai also protected normal fruit flies against oxidative stress, induced by exposure to hydrogen peroxide and the herbicide paraquat. Acai berries contain a variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, such as anthocyanins.