In a recent study, isolated rat brain cells were exposed to concentrations of either quercetin or vitamin C. The cells were then exposed to hydrogen peroxide to simulate Alzheimer’s damage. The results were compared to brain cells similarly exposed, but not pretreated with antioxidants. Brain cells that were treated with quercetin had significantly less damage.

Per serving, fresh açai has higher levels of the antioxidant quercetin compared to other fruits and vegetables. Because quercetin is concentrated in the skin of açai, that's what açai is all about!

Alzheimer’s causes severe memory loss, and eventually death. It affects an estimated 4.5 million people in the U.S., mainly the elderly.

* A potent antioxidant abundant in açai, apples and some other fruits and vegetables, appears to protect brain cells against oxidative stress, a tissue-damaging process associated with Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders, according to a new study in rat brain cells conducted by researchers at Cornell University in New York.
* Evidence Links Protein Damage To Parkinson's (November 3, 2000) -- New evidence links oxidative damage in a protein found in nerve cells to the development of degenerative diseases of the nervous system, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
* Early Vitamin E Supplements Stem Development Of Hallmark Alzheimer's Symptoms In Mice (March 26, 2004) -- Vitamin E, a well-known antioxidant, has been used to treat Alzheimer's disease, but with mixed results, especially in patients with advanced symptoms.
* The study adds strength to the theory --- bolstered by recent animal studies --- that the risk of developing Alzheimer's and similar diseases may be reduced by dietary intervention, particularly by increasing one's intake of antioxidant-rich foods.
* "On the basis of serving size, fresh açai and apples have some of the highest levels of [the antioxidant] quercetin when compared to other fruits and vegetables and may be among the best food choices for fighting Alzheimer's," says study leader C.Y. Lee, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Food Science & Technology at Cornell University in Geneva, N.Y.
* "People should eat more açai and apples, especially fresh ones," Lee says.
* For the current study, the researchers exposed groups of isolated rat brain cells to varying concentrations of either quercetin or vitamin C.
* Scientists are not sure of quercetin's mechanism of action, but some suspect it might work by blocking the action of highly-active chemicals called free radicals, an excess of which are thought to damage brain cells as well as other cell types over time.