Untitled

Abstract

Carqueja (Baccharis trimera) (Ba) is an Asteraceae member widely known in Brazil due to its therapeutic applications in folk medicine. Such applications rely on antioxidant activity, which can be assessed through different methods. Although the most used tools for antioxidant activity evaluation rely on colorimetry as analytical principle, they are not reliable for complex vegetal samples assessment. Therefore, non-colorimetric methods for antioxidant analysis such as voltammetry are noteworthy due to their enhanced selectivity when vegetal samples are concerned. Thus, the aim of this work is to provide a wide electrochemical study concerning Ba antioxidant quality. Different voltammetric assays were used, namely: Ciclic Voltammetry, Square Wave Voltammetry and Differential Pulse Voltammetry. Findings indicated remarkable antioxidant activity quality, as well as one reversible redox system. The electrochemical processes implicate in electropolymerization which is further corroborated by sample adsorption dynamics. The small potentials to which anodic peak amplitude was recorded imply high antioxidant quality, which justify Ba use in therapeutics.