Antioxidant and Photoprotective Properties of Neotropical Bamboo Species

Abstract

Bamboos are known as one of the most important renewable and valuable of all forest resources. Although it has the high species diversity and is found in the neotropics, especially in Brazil, little is known about their chemical composition and biological activities. Bamboo species are known to accumulate polyphenolic compounds that are acknowledged as potent antioxidant, which might explain their use in Asian traditional medicine. They can also act indirectly in photoprotection. For these reasons, this chapter describes the distribution and species richness of neotropical bamboo species, their chemical composition, antioxidant activity, and photoprotection potential to explore the medicinal properties of these plants. Additionally, the importance of choosing the right methods to assess these biological activities for defining the correct application is also discussed.