Love it when my jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora) tree is in harvest, which is about 3 times a year. The fruit has a sweet, aromatic, grape-like flavor and can be eaten fresh, made into jellies and jams, or fermented into wine, originally from Brazil.

Lots of studies on PubMed, explore its rich bioactive compounds (especially in the peel) and potential health benefits, which include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties.

Benefits are derived from the jaboticaba peel, which is rich in phenolic compounds like anthocyanins, gallic acid, and ellagic acid.

  • Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Effects: Jaboticaba extracts exhibit high antioxidant activity, which helps reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.
  • Cardiovascular Health: Studies show that jaboticaba fruit extracts can have vasorelaxant and hypotensive (blood pressure-lowering) effects, potentially improving nitric oxide bioavailability and reducing cardiac hypertrophy after a heart attack in animal models.
  • Metabolic Health: Consumption of jaboticaba peel powder or extract has been linked to improved insulin sensitivity, reduced blood cholesterol (dyslipidemia), protection against hepatic steatosis (fatty liver), and modulation of the gut microbiota in high-fat diet models.
  • Anti-cancer Potential: Extracts from jaboticaba peel and seeds have shown anti-proliferative effects against breast cancer, leukemia, prostate cancer, and human oral carcinoma cell lines in in vitro studies.
  • Muscle Recovery: A recent randomized, placebo-controlled human trial (published in August 2025) found that jaboticaba berry juice intake can accelerate muscle recovery, increase glutathione levels, and decrease muscle soreness after exercise-induced muscle damage 1.
  • Cognitive Function: Jaboticaba peel intake in high-fat diet-fed mice prevented the impairment of cognitive functions and reduced inflammatory markers in the hippocampus.
  1. Junior OJFR, Veiga NS, Alvares TS. Jaboticaba berry (Myrciaria jaboticaba) consumption improves plasma GSH levels and accelerates muscle recovery following exercise-induced muscle damage: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Eur J Nutr. 2025 Aug 6;64(6):251. doi: 10.1007/s00394-025-03767-x. PMID: 40770134.