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Jan 23, 2020

A “Superfood” as the Next Antimalarial?

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Researchers have found that aҫaí berry extracts can reduce parasites in the blood and prolong the survival of infected mice.


Thankfully, researchers at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil are actively searching for new treatment options and have stumbled upon some interesting new data that could prove extremely useful in the fight against this persistent parasitic infection.

Amazingly, the researchers found antimalarial in a seemingly unlikely candidate, the aҫaí berry. Findings from the new study—published recently in ACS Omega through an article titled “Chemical Genomic Profiling Unveils the in vitro and in vivo Antiplasmodial Mechanism of Açaı́ (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) Polyphenols”—showed that berry extracts can reduce parasites in the blood and prolong the survival of infected mice.

“Widespread drug-resistant parasite strains push for the development of novel antimalarial drugs,” the authors wrote. “Plant-derived natural products are key sources of antimalarial molecules. Euterpe oleracea Martius (“açaı́”) originates from Brazil and has anti-inflammatory and antineoplastic properties.”

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