Perfil fitoquímico, desreplicação e atividades biológicas de plantas medicinais comercializadas no mercado municipal de Curitiba

Abstract

Medicinal plants emerged as one of the first therapeutic resources in human history and, in Brazil, the practice of phytotherapy has roots in indigenous and African culture. With the course of scientific development, chemical investigations and pharmacological studies confirmed the effects observed by the popular use of native or adapted plant species and demonstrated the immense variety of substances that make up the secondary metabolism of plants. Bioprospecting involves the process of investigating the biological activities of plant extracts, combined with chemical analysis, in order to verify the effects and the substance(s) that have the respective activity. In this context, this project aims to evaluate the phytochemical profile of extracts of four commercially available plant species and investigate in vitro biological activities (antioxidant and antimicrobial). The hydroalcoholic extracts were prepared using two techniques (ultrasound and maceration) and the aqueous extracts were prepared by decoction and infusion. Chemical analyzes were performed by high performance liquid chromatography and extract profiles were compared between extraction methods. When comparing maceration and ultrasound techniques, both proved to be efficient in the extraction process. When comparing chromatograms of hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts, they presented distinct properties, demonstrating that despite little difference, extraction by ultrasound is more efficient. The biological activities were inconclusive and there was a need to continue the work through the Scientific Initiation project in which the authors participate.