IJCS | Volume 32, Nº2, March/April 2019

191 Table 1 - Comparison of the nutrition facts of the açaí pulp with servings of foods which display cardiovascular protection Dietary item (homemade amount) Calories Protein (g) Total fat (g) Carbohydrate available (g) Total fibers (g) Vitamin E (mg) Açaí pulp (100 g) 72 1 4.9 5.8 5.3 14.8 Avocado (100 g) 167 2 15.4 8.6 6.8 2 Powder cocoa (30 g) 123 6 3 18 6 0.1 Mix of oilseeds (28.5 g) 172 5.5 15.2 6.4 1.8 1.7 Extra virgin olive oil (14 mL) 120 0 14 0 0 1.9 Adapted from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2 Santos Effect of açaí on cardiovascular parameters Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2019;32(2)190-192 Viewpoint from 159 to 142 mg/dL (p < 0.030) in overweight patients consuming 100 g of açaí pulp twice a day for one month, but the other lipid profile parameters showed no change. 7 Surprisingly, Sadowska-Kr ę pa et al., 8 have reported an increase in HDL-C levels from 50 to 60 mg/dL in young athletes following the intake of 100 mL/day of açaí juice for six weeks, in addition to a decrease in total cholesterol from 159 to 134 mg/dL, in LDL-C from 90 to 60 mg/dL, and in triglycerides from 94 to 72 mg/dL. However, a new study has reported that the intake of 200 g/day of açaí pulp for four weeks did not improve the traditional lipid profile parameters of healthy women. Nevertheless, açaí consumption elevated the serum levels of apolipoprotein A1 and the activity of paraoxonase-1, whose molecules are HDL-C precursors. The consumption of açaí improved the transfer of cholesteryl esters to HDL-C, a beneficial biochemical process, because that is an HDL-C function, which captures cholesteryl esters from VLDL-C (reverse cholesterol transport). 9 Conclusions/Dietary Management The açaí intake can be encouraged to patients already adept to its consumption or those who are willing to. However, one should be cautious about overvaluing its claimed effects on lipid profile and vascular function. Regarding nutrition facts of the açaí , shown in Table 1, ensures its usual use in dietary plans. However, attention should be paid to the foods added to açaí preparations, such as sugar, honey, powder milk, peanut powder. The açaí pulp is popularly consumed combined with other foods, and some dietary items that can enhance the claimed cardiovascular effects of açaí are cocoa or dark chocolate and oilseeds, such as almonds, chestnuts and walnuts. Author contributions Conception and design of the research: Santos HO. Acquisition of data: Santos HO. Analysis and interpretation of the data: Santos HO. Writing of the manuscript: Santos HO. Critical revision of the manuscript for intellectual content: Santos HO. Potential Conflict of Interest No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported. Sources of Funding There were no external funding sources for this study. Study Association This study is not associated with any thesis or dissertation work. Ethics approval and consent to participate This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.