Citharexylum solanaceum fruit extracts: Profiles of phenolic compounds and carotenoids and their relation with ROS and RNS scavenging capacities

• The bioactive compounds of C. solanaceum extracts were reported for the first time.
• Antioxidant compounds of C. solanaceum are effective against ROS and RNS.
• Verbascoside was the major phenolic compound of C. solanaceum extracts.
• C. solanaceum may be used as source of antioxidant compounds with health benefits.

Citharexylum solanaceum is a native fruit from Brazil, which both bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential were not yet investigated. Thus, the freeze-dried extracts of seed and pulp + skin of C. solanaceum fruits were obtained after solid-liquid extraction with ethanol and their bioactive compounds composition, namely phenolic compounds and carotenoids, were determined. The antioxidant capacity of both extracts against physiologically relevant reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) was further investigated. Both C. solanaceum extracts showed high contents of phenolic compounds; however, pulp + skin extract presented 2.4-times more phenolic compounds (33.54 mg/g) than the seed extract (14.09 mg/g). Verbascoside (phenylpropanoid) was the major compound identified in both extracts (11–25 mg/g). Regarding the carotenoid composition, all-trans-lutein (14–42 μg/g) and all-trans-β-carotene (13–44 μg/g) were the major compounds in both extracts. The high content of phenolic compounds and carotenoids in pulp + skin extract might explain its higher scavenging capacity against all the ROS/RNS as compared to seed extract. In general, both extracts showed better scavenging capacity for the RNS than for the ROS. Our results indicate that C. solanaceum fruits can be explored as an important natural source of antioxidant compounds.

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