Total polyphenolic, antioxidants, and cytotoxic activity of infusions from soursop (Annona muricata) leaves from two Mexican regions

Abstract

Infusions of soursop or graviola (Annona muricata L.) leaves have been used as alternative medicine for their phytochemical composition, pharmacological and cytotoxic activity that are related with antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Infusions of soursop leaves were obtained at 5, 10, and 15 min in samples collected from the Chiapas and Nayarit regions of Mexico. Total soluble phenols (TSP), flavonoids (FC), condensed tannins (CT), total anthocyanins (AC), antioxidant activity, attenuated total reflectance – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis (FTIR-TRA), cytotoxic activity in MCF7 and HT-29 cell lines were evaluated. The average contents of TSP, FC, CT and AC were as follows: 0.229±0.006 mg gallic acid equivalents ml-1, 0.177±0.003 mg catechin equivalents ml-1, 0.298±0.012 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents ml-1, and 0.189±0.003 mg catechin equivalents ml-1, respectively. The FTIR-ATR analysis determined carbonyl, hydroxyl, ester, and carboxylic acid groups. The antioxidant activity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) were 0.446±0.014 and 3.53±0.515 mM Trolox equivalents ml-1, respectively. The extraction yields of TSP, FC, CT, and AC by infusion were 88.41, 66.12, 34.93, and 56.09%, respectively. The antioxidant activity was 50.77% for ABTS and 21.44% for DPPH. Cytotoxic activity was present against the MCF7 (80%) cell line. The infusions had high polyphenol contents, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities.