Acai (Euterpe precatoria Mart. Arecaceae) from the Northern Region of Bolivia is not contaminated with Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract

Chagas disease is a very important public health problem in America. It is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by vectors such as Triatomine insects. However, oral transmission is generating more T. cruzi infections than vectorial transmission in Brazilian Amazonic regions, probably due to the increased consumption of tropical fruits such as acai. Acai palms have become very popular due to its good nutritional properties. Acai fruits have different sources depending of their geographical origin. Acai palms (Euterpe oleracea) in Brazil are cultivated, while in Bolivia grow in wild populations and belongs to a different species, the solitary acai (Euterpe precatoria). Only acai from Brazil has been involved in T. cruzi oral transmission, while Bolivian acai has been regarded as disease free. In order to verify the absence of T. cruzi on acai products from Bolivia, we developed a method to detect T. cruzi DNA by real-Time PCR with internal controls for solitary acai. In this study we show that acai good manufacturing process did not interfere with the detection of acai or T. cruzi DNA. Finally, we report that freshly collected acai fruits and acai frozen pulps from Bolivia were not contaminated with T. cruzi.