Medicinal plants produce a biodiversity of secondary metabolites, whose main function
is to protect against abiotic and biotic stresses. In humans, these active principles are
responsible for medicinal and pharmacological effects. Bertholletia excelsa
(Lecythidacea), is an oleaginous plant native to the Amazon region. The chemical
classes commonly identified in the species include phenolic compounds, terpenes, and
flavonoids, which are mainly responsible for the antioxidant activity. Recent studies
have confirmed the presence of phenolic compounds such as quercetin and
protocatechuic acid, which may be related to the free radical kidnapper capacity. In
this context, the objective of this work was to carry out a phytochemical study of crude
extracts and fractions of the stem bark of the species. Then, the collected plant material
was dried, ground, extracted with ethanol 20 and 80% by means of static exhaustive
extraction cooled by reflux. The crude extracts were filtered, concentrated and
fractionated in ascending order with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol.
Then, phytochemical prospecting analyses were carried out in tubes, CCD and MS.
Ethanolic extracts 20 and 80% showed total yields of 1.92 and 1.85 %, respectively. In
the tube test, the results were based on color change after reaction or precipitate
formation. Through the test, the presence of terpenes, steroids, saponins, flavonols
and flavanones were characterized. In the CCD test, phenolic acids, flavonoids and
terpenes were characterized. An antioxidant activity against DPPH was also observed.
In the MS analysis, it was characterized that the majority compounds are fatty acids
such as: palmitic acid (255 m/z), oleic acid 281 (m/z), linoleic acid (279 (m/z), stearic
acid 283 (m/z) and 9,12, 13-trihydroxy-10-octadecenoic acid (329 m/z), which is
consisten with the literature. In addition, the majority presence of a aryltetralin lignan
(419 m/z) and a protocatechuic acid (153 m/z) was also characterized in a minority
form. Therefore, the antioxidant activity may be associated with the concentration of
polar constituents in the samples. This research is of paramount importance and
contributes to the known chemistry of the species.
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