Arginase inhibition, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of Pitanga seed (Eugenia uniflora L.) extracts from sustainable technologies of high pressure extraction

Pitanga seed extracts from supercritical extraction (SFE), pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and conventional Soxhlet extraction had their bioactive properties tested in vitro. The essays included antioxidant (reducing power, DPPH• and ABTS•+) and antibacterial (S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and B. subtilis) activities, as well as the arginase enzyme inhibition test. Purified PLE extracts presented the highest antioxidant capacity (33.37 µM Trolox×g−1 extract) and arginase inhibition (75.96%). All extracts presented the same value of minimum concentration inhibition, 125 µg×g−1, indicating high antibacterial potential. The purified fractions from extracts obtained using SFE and PLE processes had increased arginase from Leishmania inhibition, 48.48% and 75.96% respectively, compared to Soxhlet (37.59%). These findings suggest that using different extraction methods on Pitanga seed can produce compounds with diverse activities. Extracts from Pitanga seed, a residue from the juice processing industry, possess characteristic fruit volatiles and could be used as natural aroma enrichment of Pitanga products or in functional foods formulations since compounds of the extracts present bioactive activities.