Steam distillation, supercritical fluid extraction, and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity of compounds from pink pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi).

Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity of compounds from fruits of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (pink pepper) were evaluated, using sustainable techniques such as steam distillation (SD) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). SD was optimised using a design of experiment and SFE was carried out using supercritical CO2 solvent (300 bar and 60 °C). Results of the anti-T. cruzi activity showed that the essential oil presented high activity (IC50 = 4.5 ± 0.3 µg/mL), whereas the supercritical extract had a moderate effect (IC50 = 19.7 ± 2.9 µg/mL). The differences in the anti-T. cruzi activity can be attributed to the extraction of non-volatile compounds in the SFE, such as moronic and (Z)-masticadienoic acids. In contrast, SD extracted only volatile compounds such as monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Therefore, these results suggest that the volatile compounds from pink pepper are involved with the anti-T. cruzi activity.