Bioactive compounds contents of and antioxidant activity of Nectan-dra megapotamica (Lauraceae)

Abstract

Nectandra megapotamica (Spreng.) Mez., Lauraceae known as cinnamon, is a species native to Brazil, widely used in folk medicine. The present project aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity and determine the contents of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, and total alkaloids in extracts from the leaves and bark of a specimen of N. megapotamica that occurs in the southern region of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Crude ethanolic extracts obtained from leaves and bark were tested for antioxidant activity by DPPH and ABTS methods and dosage of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, and total alkaloids by spectrophotometry in the visible region. The extracts exhibited considerable antioxidant activity, particularly the leaf extract was the most active in both methods, yielding IC50 of 9.0 ± 0.18 and 14.29 ± 0.16 μg.mL-1, respectively. This extract showed higher levels of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, and total alkaloids. The results suggest that the antioxidant activity is related to the presence of phenolic compounds and alkaloids, known antioxidant compounds, quantified in this study.