Evaluation of mandacaru fruit peel and stem as sources of total antioxidant phenolic compounds by obtaining extracts by maceration and ultrasound techniques

Abstract

The growing worldwide interest in Brazilian native fruits has encouraged research in the Caatinga, a purely Brazilian biome. One of the most typical plants of the northeastern semiarid is the mandacaru (Cereus jamacaru D.C) of Cactaceae family, which has the ability to develop in conditions of extreme water limitation due to its morphology and metabolism. In this work, extracts of peel of fruit and stem of the mandacaru were obtained by maceration and ultrasound techniques, using the solvents acetone, ethanol and methanol, in concentrations that varied between 50 and 80%. The fruit peel extract in methanol 60% obtained by maceration showed a higher content of total phenolics (4,305.6 mg GAE/100g dry peel). The highest content of total flavonoids was obtained in the stem extract in 50% acetone by ultrasound (370.0 mg QCT/100g dry stem). Peel extracts also showed greater antioxidant capacity than stem ones, with an emphasis on 80% ethanol extract obtained by maceration. The extracts from the stem and peel of the mandacaru fruit demonstrated the potential to be used in future studies as natural antioxidants.