Quantification of Flavonoids and Computational Evaluation of Major Compounds of Chrysobalanus icaco L. Against Trypanosoma cruzi ^†

Introduction: Chrysobalanus icaco L., popularly known as guajiru, is a medicinal plant belonging to the family Chrysobalanaceae. Phytochemical studies have demonstrated the presence of flavonoids such as rutin, myricitrin, quercetin, and quercitrin, bioactive compounds frequently associated with diverse pharmacological activities, including antioxidant and antiparasitic effects. Therefore, the present study aimed to quantify the total flavonoid content and to evaluate, through in silico approaches, the anti-Trypanosoma activity of major compounds from C. icaco previously described in the literature. Methodology: C. icaco extract was obtained by maceration of the leaves at 60 °C for 72 h using distilled water as solvent, followed by filtration and reduction. Quantification of total flavonoids was performed using quercetin as the standard, and values were expressed as milligrams of quercetin equivalents per gram of dry extract (mg QE/g extract). The FASTA sequences of the proteins were retrieved from the UniProt database. The selected proteins were located in the nucleus, plasma membrane, and cytoplasm. Results: The quantification of total flavonoids indicated a content of 205 mg QE/g of extract, demonstrating that the leaves of C. icaco present a high concentration of these secondary metabolites. For the in-silico assays, the analyzed flavonoids exhibited binding energies ranging from −7.0 to −10.8 kcal·mol⁻¹, with rutin standing out due to its interaction with the protein P28593, obtaining the best result. Conclusions: The association between the high flavonoid content and the strong computational interaction values suggests that this species may represent a promising source of bioactive compounds with antiparasitic potential.