Effects of Juçara ( Euterpe edulis Martius) on Health: An Overview of Clinical and Experimental Studies and Call for Action

Effects of Juçara ( Euterpe edulis Martius) on Health: An Overview of Clinical and Experimental Studies and Call for Action

Juçara is a fruit of ecological and nutritional importance. Its fruits represent an option for the sustainable use of the plant due to its vulnerability to extinction. Thus, the aim of this review was to analyze clinical and experimental studies and highlight the literature gaps regarding the effect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients Vol. 15; no. 8; p. 1809
Main Authors: Siqueira, Ana P S, Siqueira, Jéssika M, Lopes, Mirella P, Pimentel, Gustavo D
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-04-2023
MDPI
Subjects:
Adult
Animals
Antioxidants
bioactive compounds
Biological activity
Blood glucose
Cell cycle
Chemical properties
Clinical trials
Complications
Dilution
Epigenetics
Euterpe
Fruit
Fruits
functional food
Health aspects
Humans
Inflammation
Intervention
juçara pulp
Lipids
Metabolism
Middle Aged
Obesity
Palms
Review
supplementation
Sustainable use
Ulcers
Young Adult
Brazil
supplementation
bioactive compounds
functional food
juçara pulp
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Summary:Juçara is a fruit of ecological and nutritional importance. Its fruits represent an option for the sustainable use of the plant due to its vulnerability to extinction. Thus, the aim of this review was to analyze clinical and experimental studies and highlight the literature gaps regarding the effects of supplementation with Juçara on health. For this scoping review, we consulted the Medline (PubMed), Science Direct, and Scopus databases in March, April, and May 2022. Experimental studies and clinical trials published in the last ten years (2012-2022) were analyzed. Data were synthesized and reported. A total of 27 studies were included, 18 of which were experimental studies. Of these, 33% evaluated inflammatory markers associated with fat accumulation. Most of these studies (83%) used pulp in lyophilized form, and the others (17%) involved juçara extract mixed in water. In addition, 78% of the studies showed positive results with respect to the lipid profile, reduction of oncological lesions, inflammation, microbiota modulation, and improvement in obesity and glycemia-related metabolic complications. Nine clinical trials with results similar to those of experimental trials were found. The majority (56%) were chronic (four to six weeks into the intervention), and 44% were acute. Three offered juçara supplementation in the form of juice, four used freeze-dried pulp, two used fresh pulp, and one used a 9% dilution. The dose was fixed at 5 g, but the dilution ranged from 200 to 450 mL. These trials assessed mainly healthy, physically active, and obese individual adults (19-56 years old), and cardioprotective and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as improvement in the lipid profile and prebiotic potential, were observed. Juçara supplementation showed promising results with respect to its effect on health. However, further studies are needed to clarify these possible effects on health and their mechanisms of action.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu15081809