Avaliação da capacidade antioxidante e antiglicante do extrato etanólico das folhas da Espinheira Santa (Maytenus Ilicifolia)

Abstract

The generation of reactive species in the body, when in excess, can cause damage to health through changes and alterations in the conformation and structures of proteins and other biomolecules, leading to the development and/or progression of degenerative diseases through processes known as nitro-oxidative stress (ENO), carbonyl stress (CE), lipid peroxidation and glycation. In this sense, the search for natural compounds capable of reducing reactive species and their consequences is necessary. Foods and plants have antioxidant and antiglycant structures capable of reacting with reactive species, reducing their consequences and reducing advanced glycation end products (AGEs) resulting from the glycation reaction. The leaves of the species Maytenus ilicifolia, popularly known as espinheira santa, are used in folk medicine in the treatment of gastrointestinal inflammations and have in their composition polyphenolic structures belonging to flavonoids such as catechins, being capable of acting in the reduction of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and reactive carboline species (RCS). Thus, the present proposal determined, through the ethanolic extract of the leaves of the species Maytenus ilicifolia, the antioxidant capacities (by the DPPH● , FRAP, scavenging of the superoxide anion radical (O2 ●- ) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) assays) and the antiglycation capacities (by the glycation systems with glucose and fructose (GLI+FRU) or with methylglyoxal (MGO) and the capture of MGO through derivatization with orthophenylenediamine (OPD)). The results obtained in this study demonstrated the antiglycation capacity of the extract in the GLI+FRU system with IC50 of 140 μg/mL, while in the system with MGO the IC50 value was 120 μg/mL. The antioxidant assays corroborated the literature data, with IC50 of 27.7 μg/mL for the DPPH● assay and 0.95 μg of ET (Trolox Equivalent) for the FRAP assay. For the reactive species HOCl and O2 ●- , IC40 was identified at approximate concentrations of 1 μg/mL and 110 μg/mL, respectively. The MGO capture assay showed a capture potential of this dicarbonyl in 50% by the extract. These results highlight the promising potential of Maytenus ilicifolia leaf extract for applications in health conditions associated with oxidative and carbonyl stress, contributing to therapeutic strategies aimed at mitigating the damage caused by reactive species.