Antioxidant activities and phenolic profile of Baccharis trimera, a commonly used medicinal plant from Brazil

The infusions of Baccharis trimera (Asteraceae) are traditionally used in Brazil as a tea to treat liver disorders. It is one of the major constituents in herbal formulations used for the treatment of liver disorders and other diseases. The present study was therefore, aimed to evaluate the potential in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities and phenolic profile of Baccharis trimera. High performance liquid chromatography coupled with DAD analysis indicated that the gallic acid, rutin and quercetin were the main phenolic compounds present in aqueous extract. The aqueous extract showed inhibition against thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), induced by different prooxidants (10 μM FeSO4 and 5 μM sodium nitroprusside) in rat liver, brain and phospholipid homogenates from egg yolk. Moreover, the free radical scavenging activities of the extract was determined by the quenching of DPPH (IC50, 415.2 ± 15.2 μg/ml) and hydroxyl radicals in deoxyribose assays. The administration of extract at 100 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg dose significantly reduced the lipid peroxidation, increased the catalase activity and enhanced the levels of ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione in the liver of mice. Thus, oxidative stress in brain and liver could be managed/prevented by dietary intake of Baccharis trimera.