Too early to see benefits of acai berry

Have you been bombarded yet by distributors for a luscious-tasting fruit drink made from the Brazilian acai berry? Or have you picked up a product containing this supposedly miracle fruit at places like Wild Oats or other health food stores?

I hadn't ever heard of this dark purple product of Mother Nature until recently, when a friend shoved a brochure in my hand for the brand of this berry drink she was selling. And, coincidentally, I received a solicitation in the mail to come to a berry-tasting party from another distributor of this same brand, known as Mona Vie - www.monavie.com - one of many producers of acai berry products.

(Anheuser-Busch, well-known for its beer brand, recently launched a berry energy drink known as 180 Blue, containing the acai berry.) The berry - pronounced ah-SAH-ee - has only been available as a product for about five years, but it is being touted as the ultimate antioxidant juice that, as they used to say, can cure just about anything that ails you.

In searching the Web to find out about the berry, I discovered that Dr. Steve Talcott at the University of Florida had published a study on the berry earlier this year that investigated its effects on human leukemia cells. Even better, "the study showed extracts from acai berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested," according to a press release issued by the university and posted on Talcott's Web site.

"He cautioned that the study, funded by UF sources, was not intended to show whether compounds found in acai berries could prevent leukemia in people," the press release stated, and went on to say that Talcott didn't "want to give anyone false hope" about the berry's possible beneficial effects in humans.

However, the university also said that another study, to be concluded at the end of this year, is looking into the effects of the little berry - about the size of a blueberry - on healthy humans. "A lot of claims are being made, but most of them haven't been tested scientifically," Talcott said of distributors, such as Mona Vie, which happens to quote Talcott's research in its promotional brochure.

This, apparently, has upset Talcott, who states on his Web site that he is not associated with, or ever been financed by Mona Vie, and his research "does not indicate treatment or miraculous cures for leukemia or any other chronic illness." My distributor friend said the bottles of juice she was selling were $45 each, but that by signing onto the Web site, they could be purchased for less.

In any case, there seems to be no downside to consuming the acai berry, as a juice or a supplement. But the upside isn't certain, either. Talcott said in the statement released by the university, that, "We are encouraged by the findings. Compounds that show good activity against cancer cells in a model system are most likely to have beneficial effects in our bodies.

"[But] we are just beginning to understand the complexity of the acai berry and its health-promoting effects."

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