Euterpe oleracea Mart. is a tropical palm tree native to the Amazon region. Its fruit, commonly known as açaí, has gained widespread recognition for its therapeutic potential, driving the expansion of pharmacological studies to validate its traditional uses. Leveraging açaí seeds in research not only mitigates environmental impacts but also enables the identification of bioactive compounds with potential pharmacological applications, including drug development. Thus, the present work aims to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the hydroalcoholic extract and the ethyl acetate, hexane, dichloromethane and aqueous fractions of açaí seeds in vitro. The extract/fractions from açaí contained a significant amount of flavonoids, such as catechins and procyanidins, according to LC-MS/MS. These bioproducts showed significant antioxidant activity, with emphasis on the ethyl acetate fraction (FRAP: 4516.00 ± 58.07 Eq Trolox/g compound; DPPH: IC₅₀ 3.93 ± 0.26 μg/. mL; ABTS^{• +}: IC₅₀ 34.65 ± 0.35 μg/mL). In addition, the compounds exhibited an anti-inflammatory action on LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophages, with the dichloromethane fraction showing the more comprehensive inhibitory effects on NO, IL-12 and IFN-γ production, especially in the concentration of 500 μg/mL. E. oleracea seeds extract/fractions had no cytotoxic effect on peritoneal macrophages (IC₅₀ > 500 μg/mL). These findings suggest that E. oleracea seed-derived bioproducts hold significant promise as safe and effective agents for the development of novel antioxidant and anti-inflammatory therapies targeting a variety of inflammatory pathologies.

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, remains a neglected tropical disease of public health importance in Latin America, particularly in rural areas. In Floriano, Piauí, Brazil, data on infection prevalence are limited. This cross-sectional population-based study assessed the seroprevalence of T. cruzi infection and analyzed sociodemographic factors associated with seropositivity among residents of 41 rural communities in Floriano. A total of 1212 individuals aged over six years were examined, revealing a seroprevalence of 3.2% (39/1212), with positive cases detected in 17 communities. Infection was significantly associated with older age (≥60 years; p < 0.0001), low educational level (p = 0.0184), retirement status (p < 0.0001), and low income (p = 0.0505). Logistic regression confirmed age as the strongest determinant of infection (OR = 7.647; 95% CI: 3.741–18.61; p < 0.0001), while higher monthly income showed a negative association with infection (OR = 0.17; 95% CI: 0.01–0.82; p = 0.086), indicating a trend toward significance. These findings highlight the persistence of T. cruzi infection in rural Floriano, predominantly among elderly individuals living in poverty. The identification of previously undiagnosed chronic cases reinforces the urgent need for targeted epidemiological surveillance, early diagnosis, and community-based health education to strengthen local control and prevention strategies.

Chagas disease remains a major public health challenge due to the limited effectiveness and considerable side effects of existing treatments, particularly during the chronic stage. Açaí (Euterpe oleracea) seeds have gained increasing attention as a source of bioactive compounds with potential therapeutic applications. In this study, hydroalcoholic extracts and solvent fractions obtained from açaí seeds were chemically characterized by ESI/MS and HPLC–MS/MS and evaluated for their cytotoxicity and antiparasitic activity against different developmental stages of Trypanosoma cruzi (Y strain). Chemical profiling revealed a predominance of phenolic compounds, particularly catechins and procyanidins, which were identified as major constituents of the hydroalcoholic extract and the ethyl acetate fraction. Cytotoxicity assays performed on murine peritoneal macrophages demonstrated low toxicity, with CC₅₀ values exceeding 500 µg/mL for most samples, indicating a favorable in vitro safety profile. Antiparasitic assays showed weak activity against epimastigote forms; however, significant inhibitory effects were observed against bloodstream trypomastigotes, cell culture-derived trypomastigotes, and intracellular amastigotes. Notably, the hydroalcoholic extract exhibited the highest selectivity against intracellular amastigotes, with a selectivity index greater than 10, fulfilling key criteria proposed by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) for early-stage hit compounds. Flow cytometry analysis showed that both the hydroalcoholic extract and the ethyl acetate fraction induced parasite cell death through late apoptosis-like and necrosis. Together, these findings highlight the antiparasitic potential of E. oleracea seed extracts, particularly against clinically relevant stages of T. cruzi, and support further investigation of these bioproducts as promising candidates for the development of new therapeutic strategies for Chagas disease.