Abstract
The high biodiversity of Amazon forest implies in a great number of plants with ethnopharmacological utilization. V. sebifera is one of the most important species of Virola genus, used in treatment of rheumatism, arthritis, dyspepsia, malaria, muscle pain and erysipelas. This study aimed to investigate its chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. For this, leafs extracts i) 70% ethanol in ultrasound bath (CEU); ii) 70% ethanol in Soxhlet (CES); and iii) sequential extraction in Soxhlet apparatus, starting with hexane (HE), followed by methanol (ME), and 70% ethanol extract (EE). Phenolic concentration, total flavonoid and antioxidant activity were assessed. The highest phenolic and total flavonoid contents were found in CEU and EE showed the best antioxidant activity. The most relevant substances identified by GC-MS analysis were the Kusunokinin, Hinokinin and catechol, among others first time related in V. sebifera. The antimicrobial activity was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. The CEU, CES, EM, and EE obtained positive results against S. aureus and S. epidermidis. CES and EM also inhibited S. typhimurium and E. coli. Based on these results, V. sebifera can be recognized as a promising source of antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds.
Highlights
Brazil has several biomes and one of the greatest biological diversities in the world
At the same time that the data obtained allow us to observe the effect of polarity on the extraction of antioxidants from this plant, with less affinity for nonpolar hexane solvent, it was found that for an efficient extraction of non-destructive bioactive molecules from the leaves of V. sebifera it is necessary to consider the temperature of the extraction system, with cold extraction being ultrasound-assisted which best preserves the polyphenols
The results showed that the aqueous extract showed greater antibacterial activity, with a sensitivity of 89.3% of the MRSA strains evaluated, followed by ethanolic (67.2%) and acetone (39.3%), inferring that the active substances present in V. sebifera are of a nature polar
Summary
Brazil has several biomes and one of the greatest biological diversities in the world In this context, the region called the Brazilian Legal Amazon stands out, covering an area of 4.196.943 km (Somavilla et al, 2020). It constitutes a surface that covers nine Brazilian states: Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins (Saraiva et al, 2020), which corresponds to approximately 61% of the Brazilian territory, it is revealed by the largest continuous reserve of tropical rainforest with one of the greatest biodiversity in the world, which covers part of the country's three largest biomes, Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal (Saraiva et al, 2020; Ministry of Environment, 2018). The Cerrado is considered a biodiversity hotspot, qualifying it as the richest savanna in the world
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