Abstract
We investigated antioxidant capacity, phenolic content and phytotoxic effects in seven species of fruit native to Brazil: Acrocomia aculeata, Hymenaea stigonocarpa, Tamarindus indica, Byrsonima intermedia, Psidium firmum, Myrciaria cauliflora and Ficus obtusifolia. Phytotoxic effects were assessed from crude ethanol extracts and semipurified fractions. In four of the seven fruits, total phenolic content, as determined by Folin-Ciocalteu assay, was higher in the peel than in the pulp. We found that total phenolic content correlated significantly with antioxidant capacity. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection revealed the presence of the flavonoids quercetin and rutin in some fruits. We also evaluated the allelopathic effects of the crude ethanol extract and semipurified fractions. In most of the essays, the ethyl acetate fractions showed the highest level of activity.
Highlights
The continued use of herbicides, especially in areas of monoculture, has led to the emergence of herbicide-resistant weed biotypes, which has caused a significant increase in production costs and serious problems of environmental contamination (Macias et al 2000)
On the basis of our results, it was possible to distinguish among and group the extracts and semipurified fractions according to their characteristics
The most significant results were obtained for the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) of the peel of Myrciaria cauliflora (IC50 = 1.33 ± 0.08 μg/mg); the EAF of Byrsonima intermedia (IC50 = 1.38 ± 0.11 μg/mg); the crude ethanol extracts (CEEs) and EAF of Tamarindus indica (IC50 = 2.57 ± 0.18 μg/mg and 3.72 ± 0.27 μg/mg, respectively); and the EAF of Psidium firmum (IC50 = 3.82 ± 0.07 μg/mg)
Summary
The continued use of herbicides, especially in areas of monoculture, has led to the emergence of herbicide-resistant weed biotypes, which has caused a significant increase in production costs and serious problems of environmental contamination (Macias et al 2000). In the species of fruits from which we obtained the CEEs and semipurified fractions separately, we found the highest levels of antioxidant activity in the peels of the fruit, especially in Tamarindus indica and Myrciaria cauliflora.
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