ABSTRACT
Aims: The objective of this work was to quantify phenolic compounds, flavonoids, vitamin C, total carotenoids, β-carotene and lycopene and to measure the antioxidant activity in the medicinal plants Aloe vera (L.) Burm. (aloe), Simaba ferruginea St. Hil. (calunga), Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC (carqueja), Garcinia cambogia Desr., and Tournefortia paniculata Cham. (marmelinho) and of the phytotherapic made with the combination of these plants. Place and Duration of Study: Chemistry Department of Federal University of Lavras – UFLA, Brazil between June 2011 and September 2012. Methodology: Phenolic compounds, flavonoid, vitamin C, total carotenoids and β-carotene and lycopene contents were quantified by UV-Vis spectrophotometer and antioxidant activity by ABTS and β-carotene/linoleic acid methods. Results: High contents of phenolic compounds were found in marmelinho (36.19g 100g-1 dry matter – DM), followed by carqueja (4.03g 100g-1DM) and calunga (1.62g 100g-1DM); of flavonoids in marmelinho (480.30mg 100g-1DM) and carqueja (173.68mg 100g-1DM); of vitamin C in marmelinho (652.80mg 100g-1DM) and G. cambogia (127.63mg 100g-1DM); and of carotenoids in marmelinho (23.16 mg 100 g-1). The antioxidant activity, in µmol trolox g-1, by the ABTS method, was considered moderate in the aqueous (728.80) and ethanolic (731.06) marmelinho extracts, and weak for the other plants. However, by the β-carotene/linoleic acid method, the aqueous and ethanolic marmelinho extracts show great antioxidant potential at all tested concentrations (above 80% inhibition), and those of carqueja, calunga and the ethanolic of the phytotherapic, at the concentrations of 40,000 and 20,000mg L-1, also showed good antioxidant potencies (over 60% inhibition). Conclusion: Those five species of plants showed antioxidant activity with potential for use in pharmaceutical and food preparations, with possible health benefits.
ABSTRACT
The chemical composition of the essential oil from the leaves of Pelargonium odoratissimum (L.) L'Hér., Geraniaceae, was determined and the antimicrobial activities against the Aspergillus flavus CML 1816, Aspergillus carbonarius CML1815 and Aspergillus parasiticus CMLA 817 fungi, as well the Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25 992 bacteria were evaluated. The essential oil was isolated by steam distillation using a modified Clevenger apparatus, and its constituents were identified and quantified by GC/MS and GC-FID analyses. In vitro bioanalytical testing was performed using a completely randomized design. The concentrations of essential oil employed ranged from 0.1 to 2 μL.mL-1 (in dimethyl sulfoxide) for the fungus species and from 1 to 500 μL.mL-1 for the bacteria. The diameters of the inhibition zones formed for bacteria and the mean diameters of mycelial growth in perpendicular directions for fungi were measured, followed by calculation of the percentage of inhibition. The essential oil from the leaves of P. odoratissimum furnished methyleugenol (96.80 percent), a phenylpropanoid. This essential oil inhibited the growth of fungi (100 percent inhibition) and exhibited a small effect on the bacteria at the concentrations tested.