Acerola

Malpighia species

The acerola is a bushy tree that grows to a height of ten to fifteen feet tall. It is native to the West Indies and southern Texas southward to northern South America. Acerola is often cultivated as an ornamental shrub, particularly in the southeastern United States. The fleshy red fruits are about the size of a cherry and can be eaten fresh or used to make jams and jellies. They also are an important commercial source of natural vitamin C.

Acerola is one of the richest food sources of vitamin C. On average, 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of ripe acerola fruits contains 17,000 milligrams of vitamin C. (The vitamin C content varies depending on the season, climate, location, and ripeness of the fruit.) For the sake of comparison, 100 grams of oranges contains only 50 milligrams of vitamin C. Acerola has a carotene content comparable to that of carrots and also supplies magnesium, niacin, pantothenic acid, potassium, vitamin B1 (thiamine), and vitamin B2 (riboflavin). The vitamin content of acerola is highest before it ripens, while the fruit is still green. As the fruit begins to ripen, it loses much of its vitamin content, which is why it is harvested green.

Acerola is used primarily for its vitamin C content and free-radical-scavenging abilities, but also is a source of other vitamins and minerals. The acerola fruit also contains other substances, like provitamin A, that intensify the antioxidative (cell-protective) effects of vitamin C.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient and must be supplied by the diet. It is known to be a natural detoxifier, antioxidant, and antihistamine. Vitamin C is a natural chelating agent that indirectly protects the body from the effects of pollution and heavy metal exposure. It is necessary for the formation and maintenance of collagen, which is a primary protein of the skin and connective tissues, and is necessary for a healthy liver and adrenal gland function.

Vitamin C helps the body to fight stress. People living under stress, in polluted cities, smokers, and those prone to infection need additional amounts of this vitamin.

Other names

• Antilles Cherry
• Barbados Cherry
• Cereso

Uses

• Aging. Research on aging has focused on free radicals and other agents that cause oxidative damage to the body and gradual failure of the immune system. Many experts now believe that these are major factors in the aging process. Vitamin C is effective at scavenging free radicals, preventing damaging oxidation reactions in the body, and stimulating the immune system, thus slowing the aging process.
• Allergies. Vitamin C is a powerful natural antihistamine. Studies have shown that people who took vitamin C regularly had fewer allergy problems, respiratory infections, and asthma attacks.
• Angina. As an exceptionally rich source of vitamin C, acerola helps people who must use nitroglycerin tablets to avoid becoming habituated to the drug, requiring larger and larger doses. The vitamin C in acerola also helps prevent orthostatic hypotension, a condition that causes a tendency to faint when moving from a seated position to a standing position, in people who must take nitroglycerin.
• Atherosclerosis. Vitamin C helps to normalize blood-fat levels. High-dose treatments have shown to be effective in reversing moderately severe atherosclerosis.
• Bronchitis. Vitamin C has anti-infective activity and helps the immune system to regain balance, enabling it to fight the infection. In studies, hospital patients with bronchitis recovered faster when they took vitamin C supplements.
• Cancer. Studies show that people who regularly eat foods high in vitamin C have a lower than average risk of developing various malignancies, especially cancer of the stomach and esophagus.
• Colds and flu. Taking 2,000 to 4,000 milligrams of vitamin C with acerola has been found to ease symptoms of colds and flu and to shorten the duration of the infection. Acerola also makes acetaminophen (Tylenol) more effective for relieving the aches and pains of colds and flu by slowing the rate at which the pain reliever is eliminated from the bloodstream.
• Glaucoma. Glaucoma involves an increase in intraocular pressure (fluid pressure in the eyeball) that develops when the drainage mechanism for this fluid becomes impaired. Many studies show that vitamin C lowers intraocular pressure.
• Herpes. The acids in acerola break down mucus, in which the herpes virus multiplies. The high concentration of vitamin C provided by the herb interacts with the micronutrient copper to eliminate as many as 99.994 percent of the viruses that would be shed by infected cells. Clinical studies of herpes treatment have found that vitamin C reduces pain and swelling, and speeds the healing of scabs by several days.
• Infertility. For treatment of infertility caused by sperm abnormalities in men, vitamin C supplementation has been shown to be as effective as several fertility-enhancing drugs.
• Parkinson's disease. Acerola is an excellent source of antioxidants important for maintaining mental function and preventing dementia. Laboratory studies suggest that acerola is especially useful for maintaining levels of available vitamin C in brain tissue in people with Parkinson's disease who are taking vitamin E supplements.
• Wrinkles. Acerola extracts are used in antioxidant skincare products to fight cellular aging. According to South American herb expert Leslie Taylor, acerola contains mineral salts that promote the remineralization of tired and stressed skin, as well as mucilage and proteins that prevent drying. Acerola also is useful for fighting fungal infections of the skin.

Acerola is also used to treat cervical dysplasia.

Considerations

The easiest way to use acerola is as a natural vitamin C tablet called "vitamin CUSP with acerola." To avoid changes in metabolism that cause the body to require large amounts of vitamin C for normal health, take no more than one to two tablets per day for Parkinson's disease, and use acerola tablets for herpes only when lesions break out. Be sure to drink six to eight glasses of water daily when taking acerola.

Acerola replaces vitamin C that may be depleted during treatment with tetracyline antibiotics, corticosteroids such as prednisone, and oral contraceptives. Acerola and other potent sources of vitamin C should be avoided immediately after cancer surgery. Cancer cells normally need special transport molecules to take up large amounts of vitamin C. When they are "minced"-that is, separated from the tumor-they can take up the growth-stimulating vitamin C on their own. Avoid acerola for two to three weeks after any surgical procedure for cancer. Acerola should also be avoided during chemotherapy with agents designated to deprive cancer cells of vitamin C, such as melphalan (Alkeran).

People who have hemachromatosis (iron overload disease) should avoid acerola and other vitamin C supplements, since taking over 200 milligrams of vitamin C per day increases iron absorption. People with this disorder who are being treated with deferoxamine (Desferal), however, benefit from taking acerola, since the additional vitamin C helps the drug remove iron from circulation.

There is no danger of overdose through the use of acerola skin creams. But before using such a cream, test it on a small area to see if any sign of an allergic reaction develops. If there is no redness or swelling forty-eight hours later, apply the cream as needed.

There is some evidence that vitamin C is sometimes converted to calcium oxalate, which can become concentrated in the urine, a condition known as ascorbate-induced hyperoxaluria. For some people, this may result in the formation of kidney stones. This is a rare situation, however. Such a response to vitamin C may be genetically determined, so if you have a family history of kidney stones, screening for ascorbate-induced hyperoxaluria is recommended.

How much vitamin C is enough? In 1999, the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported studies that showed that cells cannot absorb more vitamin C than the amount provided by taking 200 milligrams of vitamin C two to three times a day. This would seem to imply that high-potency sources of vitamin C such as acerola provide ascorbic acid that is "wasted" by the body in fighting infection or treating degenerative disease. However, the vitamin C in acerola treats conditions by acting outside cells rather than inside them. It prevents the shedding of viruses to general circulation or provides a high concentration of antioxidants needed to transport necessary nutrients into the cell. Therefore, the high dosages of vitamin C delivered by acerola are useful for many conditions.

Body tolerance is the largest dose of vitamin C a person can take without experiencing gas, loose stools, or diarrhea. You can find your body tolerance by starting with a relatively low dose, perhaps 500 to 1,000 milligrams with each meal, and gradually increasing the dose every day until you notice any of symptoms mentioned above. Then decrease the dose slightly to the largest amount you can tolerate, with continued adjustment as needed.

People who feel well most often discover a body-tolerance quantity of 2,000 to 12,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily, while people who do not feel well find their tolerance increased to 10,000 to 30,000 (or more) milligrams daily. Usually, as health improves, the amount of vitamin C the body can tolerate gradually decreases.

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