Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz: A Natural Source of Bioactive Compounds

Abstract

Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz, commonly called “maqui” is a native tree of Chile considered sacred for the Mapuche people. The fruits are sweet blackberries with a high concentration of polyphenols which stain the hands and mouth when eaten. The Mapuche people use it for creating "chicha" an alcoholic beverage, while leaves are used to treat infected wounds, inflammation and ulcers. In this review, we will give an overview of the pharmacology reported for the plant and molecules isolated from leaves and fruits, with the scope of giving a better understanding of the potential of this tree.

Comparative Study of Metabolomic Profile and Antioxidant Content of Adult and In Vitro Leaves of Aristotelia chilensis

“…Compounds 17, 18 and 20 showed a deprotonated molecular ion of monoglycosides. Peaks 17 and 18 should be quercetin-3-Ohexosides isomers, which would agree with quercetin-3-O-galactoside (17) and quercetin-3-O-glucoside (18) [36], and quercetin-3-O-pentoside (20) (Table 2). Peak 11 presented a deprotonated molecular ion at m/z 615 with a loss of 152 amu after the MS fragmentation event (galloyl radical), and other ions at m/z 301 (deprotonated quercetin), which indicated that this compound was quercetin-3-O-(galloyl) hexoside.…”

“…According to the results of HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS n , the expression of phenolics compounds was more related to the type of leaf than to the season of the year. It is well-known that phenols are a distinctive feature of A. chilensis , and some of its nutritional and pharmacological effects can be attributed to their presence in the plant [ 17 , 41 ].…”

“…The screening of phenolic compounds from methanolic extracts obtained from in vitro (samples: 1 and 2) and ex vitro (samples: spring apical, winter apical, spring basal and winter basal) by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS n showed a HPLC-UV chromatogram (280 and 350 nm) (Figures 1 and 2) where the peaks detected were derivatives of galloyl acids (1, 2 and 4), caffeoyl quinic acids (3 and 5), ellagitannins (6)(7)(8), ellagic acids (9, 10, 12, 13 and 15) and flavonoid-derivatives (11,14,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23) according to their UV spectra and MS data.…”

“…On the other hand, given the beneficial health properties of these compounds, there is a growing interest in the knowledge of the metabolic profile of extracts of maqui fruits and leaves, and the high demand for these bioactive compounds has promoted the search for new alternative sources for the production of these compounds. Turchetti and Paz [ 17 ] described the presence of polyphenols and indole alkaloids such as aristoteline, aristotelinine, aristotelone, aristone, aristotelinone, aristoquinoline, makonine and hobartine, and their derivatives, amongst others, in maqui leaf extracts. Muñoz et al [ 18 ] carried out a phytochemical characterization of leaf extracts, and detected their anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant activities.…”