ABSTRACT
Annona crassiflora Mart., whose fruit is popularly known as araticum, is a member of the Annonaceae family found in the Brazilian Cerrado. Although this plant has several medicinal uses, its bioactive molecules are not fully understood. A bioguided assay was performed to identify the main bioactive compounds of A. crassiflora fruit peel from the ethanol extract fractions with antioxidant capacity and α-amylase, α-glucosidase and glycation inhibitory activities. Ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions showed, respectively, higher antioxidant capacity (DPPH IC50 1.5±0.1 and 0.8±0.1µgmL-1, ORAC 3355±164 and 2714±79µmoltroloxeq/g, and FRAP 888±16 and 921±9µmoltroloxeq/g) and inhibitory activities against α-amylase (IC50 4.5±0.8 and 1.7±0.3µgmL-1), α-glucosidase (IC50 554.5±158.6 and 787.8±140.6µgmL-1) and glycation (IC50 14.3±3.3 and 16.0±4.2µgmL-1), and lower cytotoxicity, compared to the other fractions and crude ethanol extract. The HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis identified various biomolecules known as potent antioxidants, such as chlorogenic acid, (epi)catechin, procyanidins, caffeoyl-hexosides, quercetin-glucosides and kaempferol. The fruit peel of A. crassiflora, a specie from Cerrado, the Brazilian Savanna, provided a source of antioxidant compounds with properties to block carbohydrate digestive enzymes and formation of glycation products. Thus, there is potential to use the by-products of araticum in order to identify and isolate phytochemicals for application in nutraceutical supplements, food additives and pharmaceuticals products.
