Antimicrobial, antioxidant activity and phytochemical prospection of Eugenia involucrata DC. leaf extracts

Abstract

The species Eugenia involucrata DC. is a plant native to Brazil and is traditionally used for intestinal problems, however, little research has documented about its biological potential and phytochemical profile. Thus, the objective of this study was to carry out preliminary phytochemical prospecting, antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of E. involucrata extracts. Using the E. involucrata leaves, aqueous and organic extracts were obtained using the following solvents (ethanol, methanol, hexane, acetone, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate). The phytochemical prospecting detected the presence of saponins, steroids, flavonoids and tannins in the extracts. Ethanolic and methanolic extracts presented antimicrobial activity for most of the bacterial strains tested, as well as for yeast Candida albicans, with concentrations between 3.12 and 50 mg/mL. The ethanolic and metanolic extract presented high free radical sequestration potential (>90%). The methanol extract showed an IC50 value statistically equal to that found for the commercial antioxidant BHT (p <0.05). The crude extracts obtained with ethanol and methanol were the most promising. These results suggest that methanolic, ethanolic and aqueous extracts are a promising source of natural bioactive.

Rowanberry—A Source of Bioactive Compounds and Their Biopharmaceutical Properties

“…Recent studies show the direct connection between the antioxidant activity of various plant extracts and the antitumor [ 68 , 69 ], antidiabetic [ 70 , 71 , 72 ] and antibacterial [ 73 , 74 , 75 ] activities.…”

Emerging berries from the Brazilian Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes: new sources of bioactive compounds with potential health benefits

“…149,150 Additionally, Barzotto et al 151 has highlighted the high contents of α-tocopherol (26-88 mg per 100 g), squalene, and vitamin E in cereja-do-Rio-Grande leaves' extracts. A significant presence of condensed tannins, free steroids, saponins, and xanthones have also been evidenced by Toledo et al 29 Contrastively to the leaves VO, cereja-do-Rio-Grande fruit VO has a more balanced abundance of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (42.2%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (53.2%). The differences are extended to the volatile compounds' profile, being β-caryophylene, spathylenol, γ-eudesmol, 5-epi-7-epiα-eudesmol, humulene oxide, and iso-spathulenol the compounds with the highest relative abundances, in the descripted order.…”

“…9) to 31.71 g of GAE per 100 g. 26 The leaves of this species have a wide range of phenolic compounds, from flavan-3-ols, also found in the fruit, to quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, and myricetin derivatives, as well as organic and phenolic acids. 9, 26,27,29 Aside from cereja-do-Rio-Grande phenolic composition, this species' essential oils are rich in volatile compounds with relevant bioactivity. The essential oils' composition varies according to the origin and what fraction of the species are studied.…”

“…24 Both contain sesquiterpenes, which have health-promoting effects. [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] This collection of fruits has been linked to numerous functional properties, 16,17,23,24 which will be extensively explored in this study. Hence, the focus of this review was to highlight the berries native to the Brazilian Amazon and Atlantic Forest as promising sources of bioactive compounds, emphasizing their health-promoting effects in vitro and in vivo.…”

In Vitro Inhibition of Colorectal Cancer Gene Targets by Withania somnifera L. Methanolic Extracts: A Focus on Specific Genome Regulation

“…For maximum cell penetration, a recommended minimum volume of 70% methanol (MeOH) was utilized. Essentially, 70–80% MeOH is the most widely utilized solvent because it has strong cell content penetration and is therefore suitable for extracting all primary and secondary metabolites [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. The solvent was evaporated in order to concentrate the extract.…”