Phytochemical profile, toxicity and antioxidant activity of Aloysia gratissima (Verbenaceae)

Abstract

Recebido em 20/3/12; aceito em 26/7/12; publicado na web em 7/12/12Aloysia gratissima (Gill. et Hook) Tronc. (Verbenaceae) is native to South America with folk therapeutic applications for a wide range of diseases. The polyphenolic and carotenoid profile, toxicity, and antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of Aloysia gratissima were investigated. HPLC analyses showed high amounts of ferulic acid, trans-cinnamic acid and p-coumaric acid, and also transb-carotene and lutein which fluctuated throughout the seasons. Furthermore, the extract investigated not only exerted antioxidant activity but also inhibited lipid peroxidation. Toxicity was achieved only at the highest dose tested. Therefore, A. gratissima is a potential species for medicinal purposes.Keywords: Aloysia gratissima; Verbenaceae; antioxidant activity. INTRODUCTIONAloysia gratissima (Gill. et Hook) Tronc. (Verbenaceae) is an aromatic native plant widely distributed in subtropical regions of South America, particularly Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. In Brazil, its folk name is "erva-santa", popularly named by local communities that use its aqueous extract to which they attribute several therapeutic benefits. In traditional medicine, it is thought to be a remedy to alleviate and help treat symptoms associated with headaches, bronchitis, and nervous system disorders 1 including depression 2 and also to treat digestive system disorders. 3 However, there are no published studies investigating Aloysia gratissima's toxicity while scientific articles about its chemical composition or antioxidant action are scarce, with those available focusing mainly on aqueous extract. Thus, while the chemical composition and some biological activities 4 of Aloysia gratissima's essential oil have been investigated, information on the bioactive compounds belonging to the aqueous extract, to the best of our knowledge, has not yet been described. Furthermore, there is a lack of information about the seasonal phytochemical profile of Aloysia gratissima's aqueous extract.The methanolic extract of A. gratissima has shown the presence of kauranes, flavonoids and phenylethanoids 5 in addition to α-bisabolol, triterpenes such as α-amirin, the acids betulinic, oleanolic and ursolic, flavonoids such as genkwanin, 5-hydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyapigenin, 5-hydroxy-7,3',4'-trimethoxyluteolin, and rutin, which exhibited antibacterial, antiedematogenic, and antioxidant properties. 6 Recently, Zeni et al. 7 demonstrated that Aloysia gratissima's aqueous extract has both antidepressant-like and neuroprotective effects in mice.Polyphenols and carotenoids have been studied as factors responsible for treating several cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. 8 The aim of this study was to determine the polyphenolic and carotenoid composition of the plant throughout the seasons; to select the aqueous extract with the highest level of those compounds, and to investigate the toxicity and antioxidant activity of the aqueous extract containing the highest level of bioactive compounds an...

Foliar phenolic compounds of ten wild species of Verbenacea as antioxidants and specific chemomarkers

“…Our results indicated that A. gratissima profile was constituted by one phenolic acid (3), one 7-O-glycoside of apigenin (16), and two luteolin-7-O-glycosides (9 and 19) ( Table 3 and Figure 1). The current results contrast with those reported by Zeni et al (2013) for this same species occurring in Brazil, these authors found 10 phenolic acids and no flavone in the aerial parts. These contrasting results could be accounted for by the differences between the extraction conditions.…”

“…These contrasting results could be accounted for by the differences between the extraction conditions. Probably, some flavonoids were degraded during the boiling water-extraction procedure used by Zeni et al (2013), as flavonoid degradation, producing phenolic acids, has been reported under boiling water conditions (Buchner et al, 2006). The chemical differences could also be the consequence of a high genetic variability between populations of the same species growing in different and contrasting environmental conditions (like those in Brazil and in northern Mexico), between which, genic flux is unlikely to occur.…”

Aloysia gratissima prevents cellular damage induced by glutamatergic excitotoxicity

“…AE was already characterized by HPLC and the major phenolic acids constituents are ferulic (46.95 mg/100 g), t ‐cinnamic (40.04 mg/100 g) and p ‐coumaric (9.46 mg/100g); carotenoids are β‐carotene (1.18 mg/g), lutein (1.01 mg/g) and zeaxanthin (0.63 mg/g). In addition, phenolic acids, caffeic, chlorogenic, gallic, vanilic and protocatechuic were also found in the AE [14]…”

“…A voucher specimen (# 2658) was deposited for future reference. The material was extracted as previously described,[14] filtered, lyophilized, stored in freezer (yield 25.71%) and A. gratissima aqueous extract (AE) was resolubilized in saline (0.9%) at the time of administration. AE was already characterized by HPLC and the major phenolic acids constituents are ferulic (46.95 mg/100 g), t ‐cinnamic (40.04 mg/100 g) and p ‐coumaric (9.46 mg/100g); carotenoids are β‐carotene (1.18 mg/g), lutein (1.01 mg/g) and zeaxanthin (0.63 mg/g).…”

“…A. gratissima aqueous extract (AE) has recently been documented by our group for its antidepressant‐like and neuroprotective effects [13]. Furthermore, AE has been shown to be a safe extract to administer in vivo , and its chemical profile was analysed and reported to have the presence of ferulic acid (FA) as the major phenolic compound [14]…”