"What's purple, gloopy and coming to a juice bar near you? An amazing Amazonian potion"

The London Times, Saturday, September 20, 2003. By Alex Bellos.

Wheatgrass, pomegranate juice? That's so last season. The latest fitness fad in the United States is a purple fruit that originates from the Amazon and that users claim is one of the most nutritious and versatile foods in the world.

Açaí - pronounced AH-SIGH-YEE- has boomed in the past four years, going from zero to a $2 million business and attracting celebrity fans such as Gisele Bundchen, Andre Agassi and Sting. Described by the US Health Sciences Institute as "nature's perfect food", Açaí is the fruit of an Amazonian palm tree with the nutritional content that makes other fruits blush with inadequacy.

Served in juice bars as a slush puppie, usually mixed with bananas and guarana extract, Açaí has an unusual tropical taste - a little like blueberries mixed with chocolate. But it is its effects on health, not just tastebuds, that has been creating the biggest buzz.

Açaí's biggest selling point is that it contains a remarkable concentration of anthocyanins, the antioxidants believed to lower the chances of heart disease, although swig per swig, Açaí contains between ten and thirty times more. The purple fruit also contains the good-for-you fatty acids present in olive oil, high levels of vitamins A and C, fibre, iron and calcium. What doesn't it have? Just the bad things - zero cholesterol and only 4% fat.

You can't miss Açaí in Rio de Janeiro. All the juice bars that line the blocks near Ipanema and Copacabana do a roaring trade. In fact, Açaí is more of a lifestyle option than a foodstuff. It is the magic potion that fuelled the hedonistic energy of Brazilian beach culture.

The way its looks is integral to its appeal: a dark violet, a deep, dense colour that seems weighed down by its own prodigousness. Its thick gloopiness means you slurp it up with a spoon. Often served in a ceramic bowl - as if to emphasise its superiority over other juices - Açaí has a certain culinary gravitas. It is a whole meal, not just a thirst quenching snack.

Research has shown that the antioxidants present in Açaí are uniquely powerful - 50 times greater than mangoes, more than 5 times greater than in blueberries and almost twice as much as pomegranates.

Antioxidants can prevent blood clots, improve circulation and, some scientists believe, can work as an antiviral or help to prevent cancer. A research group at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro that specialises in the pharmaceutical analysis of Amazonian palm trees discovered that Açaí may be useful in treating prostate problems and works as a remedy for several diseases.

The fruit's priapic powers are already legendary. A friend of mine apparently unable to impregnate his wife was told by his doctor to drink Açaí. He did, and nine months later their child was born.

Fifteen years ago Açaí was as secret known only in the Amazon estuary area, where for generations it had been a staple of the local population. Açaí is served unsweetened, thickened with manioc powder, for breakfast, lunch and diner. In Belém, the colonial port at the mouth of the Amazon, about 200,000 litres are drunk every day - more than milk.

On the floodplains of the estuary, Açaí palms regenerate with ease and the tree is thought to cover an area half the size of Switzerland. The fruit is the shape of a small berry and is all stone apart from a thin dark purple skin, which is pulped to form a juice known locally as Açaí wine. Farming is unmechanised and Açaí pickers scamper up the palms to cut off branches with machetes.

Since Açaí perishes within 24 hours, the fruit was originally limited to the Amazon. With the advent of freeze-packing and modern transport links, however, frozen Açaí pulp started to appear in Rio's speciality food shops.

Carlos Gracie, the great-grandson of Scottish immigrants from Dumfries, helped Açaí to become a health fad in Rio, where he ran the country's first jujitsu academy. He remembered the fruit from his childhood, incorporated it into his diet and encouraged his sportsmen to eat it too. Carlos sired 21 children and many sons and grandsons went on to become jujitsu champions. In the 1970s the surfing community slowly became hooked on Açaí too. By the early 1990s it was widely available and is now as much part of Brazilian beach culture as football and dental floss bikinis.

The influence of the Gracie clan around the world has helped to give Açaí credibility among the international sports set. Reigning jujitsu world heavyweight champion Roger Gracie swears by it. "It's healthy because it's natural, there are no chemicals in it." he says. Roger prepares his Açaí at home in Rio and mixes it with banana and muesli. If the health benefits aren't enough to tempt you - Açaí is also good for your conscience. Growth in demand for Açaí has been changing the nature of agriculture in the miserably poor Amazon estuary.

Agronomists have successfully developed ways of cultivating Açaí sustainably. Production has boomed and is bringing riches to poor areas.

In the past 5 years, according to Francisco de Jesus of the Amazon Bank, Açaí production has almost tripled. Belém, the local city, has more than 60 pulping and freezing factories. "In my opinion, Açaí is the most promising product we have here for development."