Palms, People, and Health

Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) Seed Oil Exerts a Cytotoxic Role over Colorectal Cancer Cells: Insights of Annexin A2 Regulation and Molecular Modeling

Açaí, Euterpe oleracea Mart., is a native plant from the Amazonian and is rich in several phytochemicals with anti-tumor activities. The aim was to analyze the effects of açaí seed oil on colorectal adenocarcinoma (ADC) cells. In vitro analyses were performed on CACO-2, HCT-116, and HT-29 cell lines. The strains were treated with açaí seed oil for 24, 48, and 72 h, and cell viability, death, and morphology were analyzed. Molecular docking was performed to evaluate the interaction between the major compounds in açaí seed oil and Annexin A2. The viability assay showed the cytotoxic effect of the oil in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. Acai seed oil induced increased apoptosis in CACO-2 and HCT-116 cells and interfered with the cell cycle. Western blotting showed an increased expression of LC3-B, suggestive of autophagy, and Annexin A2, an apoptosis regulatory protein. Molecular docking confirmed the interaction of major fatty acids with Annexin A2, suggesting a role of açaí seed oil in modulating Annexin A2 expression in these cancer cell lines. Our results suggest the anti-tumor potential of açaí seed oil in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells and contribute to the development of an active drug from a known natural product.

Chemical Characterization of the Oil Separated by Mechanical Pressing from Strychnos madagascariensis Dried Fruit Pulp Flour

In Mozambique, rural communities produce flours from the dried pulp of Strychnos madagascariensis fruits. Owing to its high lipid content, the oil from this flour is frequently separated by pressing to be used as seasoning and medicine. Aiming to characterize this oil, flour samples (n = 24), dried at two different temperatures (55 °C and 65 °C), were collected from four local communities, together with a control sample prepared in the lab (50 °C). The resulting oil was fluid at room temperature, deep orange, and characterized by a high content of oleic acid (62–63%), followed by palmitic (20%) and linoleic (7%). It contained considerable amounts of tocols (25–34 mg/100 g) and carotenoids (8–10 mg/100 g), as well as sterols (431 ± 10 mg/100 g) and triterpenic alcohols (823 ± 4 mg/100 g mg/100 g). The overall composition was highly consistent between origins and temperatures, with only small statistically significant differences (p < 0.05), mostly between the community dried flours and control group. However, its high free fatty acid content (22–25%) reveals intensive enzymatic hydrolysis during the drying/fermentation steps, whose extension can be reduced by optimizing its technological process. Its chemical profile supports some of its folklore uses, revealing that it can be a promising source of edible oil, with health and technological potential that is worth optimizing and exploring.

Chemical Composition and Bioactive Properties of Commercial and Non-Commercial Purple and White Açaí Berries

Chemical composition analysis of açaí extracts revealed higher levels of total polyphenol content in purple açaí samples for both commercial (4.3–44.7 gallic acid equivalents mg/g) and non-commercial samples (30.2–42.0 mg/g) compared to white (8.2–11.9 mg/g) and oil samples (0.8–4.6 mg/g). The major anthocyanin compounds found in purple açaí samples were cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside with total concentrations in the range of 3.6–14.3 cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents mg/g. The oligomeric proanthocyanidins were quantified in the range of 1.5–6.1 procyanidin B1 equivalents mg/g. Moreover, açaí presented significant levels of calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc and copper, essential minor and trace elements, in comparison with other berries. All of the açaí extracts at 50 μg/mL potently inhibited the release of reactive oxygen species in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells, but none inhibited the release of nitric oxide. Furthermore, all the açaí samples demonstrated potential as wound healing agents due to the high levels of migration activity in human fibroblast cells.

Impact of the Mode of Extraction on the Lipidomic Profile of Oils Obtained from Selected Amazonian Fruits

Oils and fats are important raw materials in food products, animal feed, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals among others. The market today is dominated by oils derive, d from African palm, soybean, oilseed and animal fats. Colombia's Amazon region has endemic palms such as Euterpe precatoria (açai), Oenocarpus bataua (patawa), and Mauritia flexuosa (buriti) which grow in abundance and produce a large amount of ethereal extract. However, as these oils have never been used for any economic purpose, little is known about their chemical composition or their potential as natural ingredients for the cosmetics or food industries. In order to fill this gap, we decided to characterize the lipids present in the fruits of these palms. We began by extracting the oils using mechanical and solvent-based approaches. The oils were evaluated by quantifying the quality indices and their lipidomic profiles. The main components of these profiles were triglycerides, followed by diglycerides, fatty acids, acylcarnitine, ceramides, ergosterol, lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, and sphingolipids. The results suggest that solvent extraction helped increase the diglyceride concentration in the three analyzed fruits. Unsaturated lipids were predominant in all three fruits and triolein was the most abundant compound. Characterization of the oils provides important insights into the way they might behave as potential ingredients of a range of products. The sustainable use of these oils may have considerable economic potential.

African palm ethno-medicine

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

This study is the first to demonstrate the breadth and patterns of the medicinal applications of African palms. It sheds light on species with the potential to provide new therapeutic agents for use in biomedicine; and links the gap between traditional use of palms and pharmacological evaluation for the beneficial effects of palm products on human health. Last but not least, the study provides recommendations for the areas that should be targeted in future ethno-botanical surveys.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this survey was to assemble all available ethno-medicinal data on African palms, and investigate patterns of palm uses in traditional medicine; and highlight possible under-investigated areas.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

References were found through bibliographic searches using several sources including PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar and search engines of the State and University Libraries of Aarhus, National Library of Denmark and Copenhagen University Libraries, Harvard University Libraries, and the Mertz Library. Information about ethno-medicinal uses of palms was extracted and digitized in a database. Additionally, we used an African palm distribution database to compute the proportion of palm species that have been used for medicinal purposes in each country.

RESULTS

We found 782 medicinal uses mentioned in 156 references. At least 23 different palm species (some remained unidentified) were used medicinally in 35 out of Africa's 48 countries. The most commonly used species were Elaeis guineensis, Phoenix dactylifera, Cocos nucifera, and Borassus aethiopum. Medicinal uses were in 25 different use categories of which the most common ones were Infections/Infestations and Digestive System Disorders. Twenty-four different parts of the palms were used in traditional medicine, with most of the uses related to fruit (and palm oil), root, seed and leaf. Palms were used in traditional medicine mostly without being mixed with other plants, and less commonly in mixtures, sometimes in mixture with products of animal origin. Future ethno-botanical surveys should be directed at the central African region, because palm species richness (and plant species richness in general) is particularly high in this area, and only few ethno-botanical studies available have focused on this region.

CONCLUSION

The wide time span covered by our database (3500 years) shows that African palms have been used medicinally by many societies across the continent from time immemorial until today. Most medicinal use records for African palms were found in two categories that relate to most prevailing diseases and disorders in the region. By analyzing ethno-medicinal studies in one database we were able to demonstrate the value of palms in traditional medicine, and provide recommendations for the areas that should be targeted in future ethno-botanical surveys.

Dietary Consumption of Virgin Coconut Oil Ameliorates Lipid Profiles in Diabetic Rats

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is a saturated fat with promising antidiabetic properties but its ameliorative effect on lipid profiles in diabetics is rarely reported. Therefore, in this study, a total of fifteen (15) male rats weighing 200–250 g were divided into 3 experimental groups (n=5). Group I (control) and Group II (diabetic control group) were fed a normal rat chow while Group III (diabetic test group) was fed a 10% VCO diet for 3 weeks. Group II and Group III were made diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of 150 mg/kg of alloxan. After 72 hours of injection, blood glucose was tested to confirm diabetes mellitus. After 3 weeks, the animals were sacrificed to collect blood samples for lipid profile analysis. The results showed a significant increase in concentrations of triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, and very low density lipoprotein and decrease in concentration of high density lipoprotein in Group II when compared to Group I. Also, the concentrations of triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, and very low density lipoprotein except high density lipoprotein significantly reduced in Group III when compared to Group II (P<0.01, 0.001). VCO consumption can be claimed to ameliorate lipid levels in diabetes mellitus.

Ritual uses of palms in traditional medicine in sub-Saharan Africa: a review

Palms (Arecaceae) are prominent elements in African traditional medicines. It is, however, a challenge to find detailed information on the ritual use of palms, which are an inextricable part of African medicinal and spiritual systems. This work reviews ritual uses of palms within African ethnomedicine. We studied over 200 publications on uses of African palms and found information about ritual uses in 26 of them. At least 12 palm species in sub-Saharan Africa are involved in various ritual practices: Borassus aethiopum, Cocos nucifera, Dypsis canaliculata, D. fibrosa, D. pinnatifrons, Elaeis guineensis, Hyphaene coriacea, H. petersiana, Phoenix reclinata, Raphia farinifera, R. hookeri, and R. vinifera. In some rituals, palms play a central role as sacred objects, for example the seeds accompany oracles and palm leaves are used in offerings. In other cases, palms are added as a support to other powerful ingredients, for example palm oil used as a medium to blend and make coherent the healing mixture. A better understanding of the cultural context of medicinal use of palms is needed in order to obtain a more accurate and complete insight into palm-based traditional medicines.