ABSTRACT
Pouteria caimito (Sapotaceae) is widely distributed throughout Latin America, including Brazil. The yellow fruits, known as abiu, caimito, or abiurana, are eaten in natura or used to prepare desserts. In addition to being a commercially available Brazilian fruit, P. caimito has also been used as a traditional medicine. Therefore, hexane, ethanol, and aqueous extracts from its leaves were evaluated for radical-scavenging activity. Free radical-scavenging activity was tested using the DPPH assay. Total phenolic and proanthocyanidin contents were also determined. The aqueous extract comprised the highest total phenol and proanthocyanidin contents (173.6 g/mL) and showed the highest radical-scavenging activity (ED50= 36.1 g/mL). Phytochemical analysis of the hexane extract allowed the isolation of spinasterol. We found a high correlation between total phenolic and proanthocyanidin contents and radical-scavenging activity. To our knowledge, this is the first time spinasterol has been isolated from P. caimito leaves.