ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Adding value to fruit residues is of great interest, since they can be presented as a viable solution in search of new drugs for the treatment of obesity and related diseases, due to bioactive substances, especially phenolic compounds. Thus, the objective of this study was to prepare the methanol extract of acerola bagasse flour, in order to evaluate its potential as a source of inhibitors of the enzymes α-amylase, α-glucosidase, lipase and trypsin, and determine the content of phenolic compounds by high performance liquid chromatography. Enzymatic inhibition assays were conducted in the presence or absence of simulated gastric fluid. In the methanol extract of acerola bagasse flour, the following phenolic compounds were identified: gallic acid, syringic and p-coumaric acid, catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin and quercetin; epicatechin was the major compound. In the absence of gastric fluid, simulated enzymes had a variable inhibition of the acerola bagasse flour extract, except for lipase, which was not inhibited. In the presence of simulated gastric fluid, there was an inhibition of 170.08 IEU (Inhibited Enzyme Unit in µmol min−1 g−1) for α-amylase and 69.29 IEU for α-glucosidase, indicating that this extract shows potential as an adjuvant in the treatment of obesity and other dyslipidemia.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic and toxicologic effects of the administration of the powered vegetable extract and aqueous extract of Tournefortia paniculata leaves on Wistar rats, subjected to a hypercaloric diet for 42 days. The rats were divided into five groups and were given the following treatments by gavage: T0 (control) - 1.0 mL water day-1; T1 - aqueous extract containing 14 mg phenolic compounds kg-1 rat day-1; T2 - 14 mg quercetin kg-1 rat day-1; T3 - 50 mg powered vegetable extract from T. paniculata leaves (PVE) kg-1 rat day-1 and T4 - 100 mg PVE kg-1 rat day-1. The treatments did not significantly alter the weight, but were effective in reducing liver fat, glucose and serum triglycerides. The treatment T1 reduced food consumption and lipid peroxidation. None of the treatments showed genotoxic potential. Results showed that T. paniculata leaves possessed an anti-obesity potential. However, a more detailed study of the medicinal potential and characterization of phytochemicals in this plant would be still necessary for a better understanding of its mechanisms of action, enabling future applications in the treatment of this pathology or for various therapeutic purposes.