Most stop at the ORAC assay as the final word on a food's measure of antioxidant power.  As critical a measurement as the ORAC is, there is more.  While ORAC addresses the ability of a food to combat the peroxyl radical (the most prevalent free radical in our bodies), there are several other types of free radicals with devastating effects of inflammation, pre-mature aging and disease.

While some other fruits or vegetables measure well in one area, science has continued to discover that the açaí berry leads by significant margins in every test it is put to.

From the many examples, clinical tests and published results, etc. that are compiled on the new super-açaí CD-ROM, we would like to highlight a few comparisons here, relative to other antioxidant tests.

The most damaging free radical to our bodies is the superoxide anion radical.  Approximately one percent of the oxygen we take in is converted to the superoxide anion free radical.  It is also believed to be the source of other reactive oxygen species such as hydroxyl radicals, peroxide and peroxynitrite.

The superoxide scavenging ability in our body is the first line of defense against the enemy of oxidative stress and is critical to maintain.

The SORC assay measures a food's ability to scavenge this harmful enemy.  Prior to açaí, sprouted wheatgrass had the highest known capacity to scavenge the superoxide radical of any food.  Yet, once again, açaí scored the highest score (1,614 units) of any other food by a very significant margin.

This is particularly exciting, as consumption of freeze-dried  açaí, put into a liquid juice format for absorption in the body, could reduce the production of other free radicals, at the source, through its extraordinarily high superoxide scavenging ability.

As we explore the amazingly broad spectrum of antioxidant protection offered by açaí, we next look to the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay (TEAC).  This is an in vitro assay used to determine the antioxidant activity of foods.

Blueberries where the previous highest scoring food, using the TEAC assay - scoring 39.45 micromoles Trolox equivalent per gram.  Others tested, such as mangosteen (3.00), fell well short of blueberry.  Yet açaí (744.00) was nearly twenty times higher than anything ever measured.

The following graph illustrates comparisons with some of the highest scoring foods on the TEAC assay - blueberry, pomegranate, rambutan, dragon fruit, mangosteen and passion fruit.