Açai (Euterpe oleracea) is a palm plant that is native to South America and produces deep purple berry fruits. Despite açai’s popularity as a dietary supplement, little is known about the phenolic composition and antioxidant properties of commercially available açai berry products. Therefore, twenty açai supplements in a variety of forms (e.g., capsule, powder, frozen pulp, and liquid) were analyzed for their total phenolic and anthocyanin contents, individual anthocyanin and other flavonoid concentrations, and antioxidant capacities. Hierarchical cluster analysis was then used to group açai supplements into categories based on similarities in their chemical profiles and antioxidant properties. Results showed that over half of the supplements contained little or no açai fruit or had sufficient amounts of water to substantially lower the concentration of açai chemical components. Additionally, two açai supplements contained unlisted ingredients that greatly altered the products’ chemical properties. Chromatographic analysis of individual anthocyanins and other flavonoids was useful in identifying the presence of açai fruit within the dietary supplements while complimentary in vitro spectroscopic assays aided in detection of adulterants. This study highlights the complexity of the dietary supplement market while also showing the importance of collectively analyzing data from multiple complimentary techniques when evaluating açai berry products.

中文翻译：

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Açai Berry (Euterpe oleracea) 膳食补充剂：花青素和类黄酮浓度、酚类含量和抗氧化特性的变化

巴西莓（Euterpe oleracea）是一种原产于南美洲的棕榈植物，可结出深紫色的浆果。尽管 açai 作为膳食补充剂广受欢迎，但人们对市售 açai 浆果产品的酚类成分和抗氧化特性知之甚少。因此，我们分析了 20 种不同形式（例如胶囊、粉末、冷冻果肉和液体）的阿萨伊补充剂的总酚类和花青素含量、个别花青素和其他黄酮类化合物的浓度以及抗氧化能力。然后使用分层聚类分析将 açai 补充剂根据其化学特征和抗氧化特性的相似性进行分类。结果表明，超过一半的补充剂几乎不含或不含巴西莓果，或者含有足够量的水来显着降低巴西莓化学成分的浓度。此外，两种阿萨伊补充剂含有未列出的成分，极大地改变了产品的化学特性。单个花青素和其他黄酮类化合物的色谱分析有助于确定膳食补充剂中是否存在巴西莓果，而免费的体外光谱分析有助于检测掺假。这项研究强调了膳食补充剂市场的复杂性，同时也表明了在评估 açai 浆果产品时对来自多种免费技术的数据进行集体分析的重要性。两种巴西莓补充剂含有未列出的成分，极大地改变了产品的化学特性。单个花青素和其他黄酮类化合物的色谱分析有助于确定膳食补充剂中是否存在巴西莓果，而免费的体外光谱分析有助于检测掺假。这项研究强调了膳食补充剂市场的复杂性，同时也表明了在评估 açai 浆果产品时对多种免费技术的数据进行集体分析的重要性。两种巴西莓补充剂含有未列出的成分，极大地改变了产品的化学特性。单个花青素和其他黄酮类化合物的色谱分析有助于确定膳食补充剂中是否存在巴西莓果，而免费的体外光谱分析有助于检测掺假。这项研究强调了膳食补充剂市场的复杂性，同时也表明了在评估 açai 浆果产品时对多种免费技术的数据进行集体分析的重要性。