Evaluation of Antioxidant Capacity of Solanum sessiliflorum (Cubiu) Extract: An In Vitro Assay.

Diego Rocha De Lucena Herrera Mascato,Luisa Morales,Emerson Silva Lima,Michele M Passarinho,Rosany Piccolotto Carvalho,Rubén J Cruz,Janice B Monteiro,Denise Morais Lopes Galeno,Carmen Ortiz

doi:10.1155/2015/364185

Abstract

Cubiu is a vegetable of Solanaceae family, native to the Amazon, which is widely distributed through Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. It is used in food, medicine, and cosmetics by native populations. Research has shown that cubiu extracts have antioxidant activities with great biological relevance. We performed a phytochemical screening to identify the main chemical groups that could confer antioxidant activity to this extract. Several tests and qualitative precipitation specific staining for major classes of secondary metabolites were used. Antioxidant capacity in vitro tests (DPPH and ABTS) were also used to assess the extract's ability to sequester free radicals of 70% hydroethanolic and aqueous extracts of cubiu flour. Alkaloids, organic acids, phenols, flavonoid glycosides, and coumarins were found in the hydroethanolic extract while the aqueous extract presented anthocyanins, gums, tannins and mucilage, amino groups, and volatile and fixed acids. For in vitro tests, the IC50 value obtained in the DPPH assay was 606.3 ± 3.5 μg/mL while that for the ABTS assay was 290.3 ± 10.7 µg/mL. Although cubiu extracts present chemical compounds directly related to antioxidant activity, our results show that it has a low antioxidant activity. Additional studies will be needed to isolate and characterize specific compounds to further assess antioxidant activity.

Highlights

Cubiu (Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal), known in Spanishspeaking countries as “tupiro,” “topiro,” and “cocona” and known as “Orinoco apple” and “peach tomato” in Englishspeaking countries, is a vegetable of the family Solanaceae which is native to the Amazon [6] and widely distributed through the humid equatorial regions of Brazil, Peru, and Colombia
Cubiu fruits used were obtained from the Horticultural Experimental Station Alejo von der Pahlen from the National Institute of Amazonian Research (NIAR) located in Manaus, AM
Our results show that IC50 of cubiu was 606.3 ± 3.5 μg/mL, a high value when compared with ascorbic acid (IC50 of 2.74 ± 0.3 μg/mL), which used as a reference substance

Summary

Introduction

Cubiu (Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal), known in Spanishspeaking countries as “tupiro,” “topiro,” and “cocona” and known as “Orinoco apple” and “peach tomato” in Englishspeaking countries, is a vegetable of the family Solanaceae which is native to the Amazon [6] and widely distributed through the humid equatorial regions of Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. The fruit can weigh between 20 and 450 grams and contains between 200 and 500 oval flat seeds. The fruits have the most diverse forms. Those cylindrical in shape have generally 4 loci, while the heart-shaped, round, and flattened ones have between 6 and 8 loci. The fruit color changes as it matures, ranging from green when it is not ripe to yellow-orange when it is mature and to red when

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Conclusion