[6][better source needed] The importance of the fruit as a staple food in the Amazon River delta gives rise to the local legend of how the plant got its name.

[16] Anthocyanins define the blue pigmentation of açaí and the antioxidant capacity of the plant's natural defense mechanisms[17] and in laboratory experiments in vitro.

[19] The Linus Pauling Institute and European Food Safety Authority state that "the relative contribution of dietary flavonoids to (...) antioxidant function in vivo is likely to be very small or negligible".

[20][21][22] Unlike in controlled test tube conditions, anthocyanins have been shown to be poorly conserved (less than 5%) in vivo, and most of what is absorbed exists as chemically modified metabolites destined for rapid excretion.

[25] The powdered preparation was also reported to contain twelve flavonoid-like compounds, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin deoxyhexose, isovitexin, scoparin, as well as proanthocyanidins (12.89 mg/g), and low levels of resveratrol (1.1 μg/g).

[26] According to the Washington, D.C.–based Center for Science in the Public Interest thousands of consumers had trouble stopping recurrent charges on their credit cards when they canceled free trials of some açai-based products.

[31] The FTC handed down an $80 million judgement in January 2012 against five companies that were marketing açaí berry supplements with fraudulent claims that their products promoted weight loss and prevented colon cancer.

In a study of three traditional Caboclo populations in the Brazilian Amazon, açaí palm was described as the most important plant species because the fruit makes up a major component of their diet, up to 42% of the total food intake by weight.

[41] Leaves of the palm may be made into hats, mats, baskets, brooms and roof thatch for homes, and trunk wood, resistant to pests, for building construction.

[43] Comprising 80% of the fruit mass, açaí seeds may be ground for livestock food or as a component of organic soil for plants.

[45] Orally administered açaí has been tested as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the gastrointestinal system.