• Amanda N Carey, Marshall G Miller, Derek R Fisher, Donna F Bielinski, Casey K Gilman, Shibu M Poulose, and Barbara Shukitt-Hale.
• a Neuroscience and Aging , USDA HNRC on Aging at Tufts University , Boston , MA , USA.
• Nutr Neurosci. 2017 May 1; 20 (4): 238-245.

ObjectivesThe present study was carried out to determine if lyophilized açaí fruit pulp (genus, Euterpe), rich in polyphenols and other bioactive antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals, is efficacious in reversing age-related cognitive deficits in aged rats.MethodsThe diets of 19-month-old Fischer 344 rats were supplemented for 8 weeks with 2% Euterpe oleracea (EO), Euterpe precatoria (EP), or a control diet. Rats were tested in the Morris water maze and then blood serum from the rats was used to assess inflammatory responses of BV-2 microglial cells.ResultsAfter 8 weeks of dietary supplementation with 2% EO or EP, rats demonstrated improved working memory in the Morris water maze, relative to controls; however, only the EO diet improved reference memory. BV-2 microglial cells treated with blood serum collected from EO-fed rats produced less nitric oxide (NO) than control-fed rats. Serum from both EO- and EP-fed rats reduced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). There is a relationship between performance in the water maze and the production of NO and TNF-α by serum-treated BV-2 cells, such that serum from rats with better performance was more protective against inflammatory signaling.DiscussionProtection of memory during aging by supplementation of lyophilized açaí fruit pulp added to the diet may result from its ability to influence antioxidant and anti-inflammatory signaling.

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