Análise química e avaliação da atividade antioxidante de extratos de Piper fuligineum (galhos) e Piper macedoi (galhos e frutos)

Abstract

Brazil presents a very vast flora, classified into six biomes with different characteristics, which makes research in the area of natural products very promising. Cerrado, which is the second largest biome in South America, stands out for its great biodiversity and highly distinct species. In this context, the Piper genus has various uses in folk medicine, and pharmacological studies have been developed to evaluate the reported biological activities. In this work, extracts from branches of Piper fuligineum and branches and fruits of Piper macedoi were prepared and evaluated through phytochemical prospecting using thin-layer chromatography (TLC), where the following classes of compounds were observed: flavonoids, anthraquinones, anthrones, and coumarins, using colorimetric reagents, as well as analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to annotate the compounds present in the extracts by comparison with the literature. Antioxidant activity was also evaluated using the DPPH scavenging method, obtaining EC50 values lower than 50 µg mL-1, indicating good antioxidant activity.