Original Articles: 2015 Vol: 7 Issue: 12
Antioxidant and cytotoxic potential of aqueous crude extract of Acmella oleracea (L.) R. K. Jansen
Abstract
Acmella oleracea (L.) R.K. Jansen (Asteraceae), popularly known in Brazil as Jambu is a vegetable distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with important chemical properties. Its leaves and flowers are used in traditional medicine with antioxidant and cytotoxic. The present study aims to evaluate the chemical composition of crude aqueous from the extract of the leaves of A. oleracea its antioxidant potential against the radical DPPH and cytotoxic potential front of the larvae of Artemia Salina. The aqueous crude extract was obtained from this dilution in distilled water and submitted to hydrodistillation .The evaluation of antioxidant activity, was based on the methodology through the sequestering capacity of DPPH. There was prepared a methanol solution of DPPH at the concentration of 40μg/mL. The EBA Acmella oleracea was diluted with methanol at the following concentrations (5/2.5 /1.0/0.75/0.5 and 0.25 mg/mL). The cytotoxicity assay with A. salina was based on the technique of Araújo et al. (2010) and Lôbo et al. (2010) with adaptations. The preliminary phytochemical analysis of crude aqueous extract of the leaves of A. oleracea showed the presence of saponins, organic acids, reducing sugar, phenols, alkaloids, steroids and triterpenoids. A. oleracea showed reduction activity on the DPPH directly proportional to extract concentration using the (DE50%=2.76mg). The data show the effective and lethal concentration CL50 of 730.85μg/mL from EBA A.oleracea on A. salina. Based on these results it is concluded that the EBA of A.oleracea leaves presents in its chemical composition secondary metabolites with antioxidant and / or cytotoxic action.