Antioxidant activity from the leaf extracts of Jacaranda puberula Cham., Bignoniaceae, a Brazilian medicinal plant used for blood depuration

Abstract

The antioxidant activity of leaf extracts from Jacaranda puberula Cham., Bignoniaceae, was assayed by the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl) free radical scavenging method. Three phytomedicines (F1, F2, and F3) used as blood depurative, were tested by the same method. The free radical scavenger potential was measured by the discoloration of the solution. The EC50 values from Gingko bilobaEGb 761® extract and rutin, used as antioxidant for medical purposes, were used as reference. The ethanol extract (EE), ethyl acetate (EA), butanol (EB), aqueous (EAq) and the sample A (obtained from extract EB), showed lower EC50 values than other extracts and phytomedicines. The antioxidant activity (AA) of the extracts was related with the presence of the polyphenol compounds such as verbascoside (1) and cis-caffeoyl aldehyde (2). These structures were determined by chemical and spectroscopic methods and comparison with literature data.