Caracterização química, potencial antimicrobiano e antioxidante de polissacarídeo extraído de cará-moela (Dioscorea bulbifera)

Abstract

Dioscorea bulbifera is an unconventional vegetable that stores reserve substances in a modified aerial stem, and because it has nutritional potential, has been used in cooking as a substitute for traditional tubers that have social and economic importance such as potatoes and the sweet potato. There are reports in the literature that point to the presence of compounds of biotechnological interest, such as saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, tannins, glycosides, alkaloids, oxalates, organic acids and mainly polysaccharides. To meet the needs of information on the properties of carbohydrates and their industrial applications, the polysaccharides, present in the raw and pre-purified carcass of the gizzard were characterized chemically by means of different instrumental techniques, as well as their antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity. By means of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) it was possible to prove that the analyzed samples are formed by polymeric macromolecules. The Fourier Transform Infrared (IV-TF) spectra presented a well defined absorption band for hydroxyls (OH), characteristic of polysaccharides. The use of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) made it possible to know the morphology of the samples, which are composed of films or "sheets". Moreover, by X-ray diffraction (XRD) it was observed that the samples are mostly composed of amorphous material, with peaks of crystallinity at approximately 21.54º and 23.62º 2θ. Thermal analysis detected three regions of mass loss in the non-dialysed polysaccharide (PND) and dialysate (PD) at temperatures of 100 and 150; 150 and 175; and 550 and 425 °C, respectively; associated mainly with sample dewatering and organic matter decomposition, leaving a certain amount of ash remaining. It was also possible to determine the organic matter present in the samples, which was approximately 90.80 and 89.50%, in due order. Interesting antioxidant activity was detected by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, removal of the OH radical, removal of H2O2 and reducing power, but did not present antimicrobial activity against the 20 microorganisms tested. The results obtained in this study allowed preliminary characterization of the D. bulbifera polysaccharide, data not found in the entire bibliographic survey. Moreover, such results may guide future work with the application of this material industrially, as biodegradable films, in pharmaceutical excipients, and in the encapsulation of nutraceutical compounds.