Optimization of Eugenia punicifolia (Kunth) D. C. leaf extraction using a simplex centroid design focused on extracting phenolics with antioxidant and antiproliferative activities

Catarina Dos Santos,Eutimio Gustavo Fernández Núñez,Andressa Lie Mizobucchi,Marcos Nogueira Eberlin,Karina Alves De Toledo,Celio Fernando Figueiredo Angolini,Bruna Escaramboni,Bruno Pereira Lopes

doi:10.1186/s13065-020-00686-2

Abstract

Eugenia punicifolia (Kunth) D. C. (Myrtaceae) has been showing interesting biological activities in the literature which was correlated to its phenolic compounds. In the sense of a better recovering of phenolics with the best antioxidant and antiproliferative activities, an extraction, based on multivariate analytical approach, was developed from E. punicifolia leaves. The different extractor solvents (ethanol, methanol and water) and their binary and ternary combinations were evaluated using a simplex-centroid mixture design and surface response methodology. The optimized crude extracts were investigated for phenol and flavonoid content and compared to their antioxidant (EC50) and antiproliferative properties against HEp-2 (cell line derived from the oropharyngeal carcinoma) and mononuclear viability cells. Ethanolic extracts showed the best phenolic content with the highest antioxidant activity and moderated activity antiproliferative to HEp-2. ESI-QTOF–MS revealed the presence of quercetin and myricetin derivatives, which was correlated to activities tested. Then, simplex-centroid design allowed us to correlate the Eugenia punicifolia biological activities with the extracts obtained from solvent different polarity mixtures.

Highlights

Many biological activities are related to the phenolics compounds
In the process of phenolics extraction from E. punicifolia, it was expected that interaction effects could occur when one mixture of the extractive system interacted with another, influencing the response variable
Effects of the solvent system on the response variable Total phenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) In the literature, there is not a general consensus regarding the use of a single solvent or mixture of solvents ideal for obtaining bioactive compounds from plant materials, it is frequently stated that hydroethanolic extraction is the most appropriate alternative to recover phenolic compounds from plants [31]

Summary

Introduction

Many biological activities are related to the phenolics compounds. They are only not synthesized in plants for growth or reproduction, but to perform genetic, physiological, or biochemical roles [1, 2]. In this work, a simplex centroid mixture design was used to find the most adequate solvent mixture for the extraction of phenolic compounds with best antioxidant and antiproliferative activities from E. punicifolia leaves.

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Conclusion