The Piperaceae family belongs to the order Piperales and has five genera, namely: Verhuellia, Zippelia, Manekia, Piper, and Peperomia. The genus Piper has approximately 1000 species, and many of them have pharmacological properties. The species Piper marginatum is known for its use as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and hemostatic in popular medicine and for having many biological activities evidenced, such as fungicide, larvicide, and cercaricide besides the antioxidant activity of its essential oils. Free radicals are molecules or part of molecules that have one or more unpaired electrons and are the cause of many diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's, besides the natural aging process that affect all kinds of people indiscriminately, increasing the number of researches aiming to find ways to prevent these diseases. Antioxidants are molecules capable of stabilizing free radicals, by donating electrons, preventing the propagation of the reactions that originate them. The present work aimed to characterize the chemical profile and to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the crude extract and fractions of Piper marginatum through tube chromatic assay, thin-layer chromatography, and DPPH radical inhibition. The phytochemical prospection of the crude extract and fractions of Piper marginatum demonstrated the presence of substances such as phenolic compounds, flavones, flavonols, flavanones, terpenes, xanthones, and catechins. The test carried out in TLC to evaluate the antioxidant activity showed positive results for the crude extract and fractions of Piper marginatum, the quantitative antioxidant test showed better findings for fractions in ethyl acetate, n-butyl alcohol, and hydroalcoholic with IC50 values of 29. 97, 32.93, and 42.70 µg/mL accordingly, this activity may be associated with substances identified in the phytochemical prospection tests. These results can serve as a basis for the research and development of products with diverse application areas.
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