Phytotoxic and antioxidant activity of seven native fruits of Brazil

Abstract

We investigated antioxidant capacity, phenolic content and phytotoxic effects in seven species of fruit native to Brazil: Acrocomia aculeata, Hymenaea stigonocarpa, Tamarindus indica, Byrsonima intermedia, Psidium firmum, Myrciaria cauliflora and Ficus obtusifolia. Phytotoxic effects were assessed from crude ethanol extracts and semipurified fractions. In four of the seven fruits, total phenolic content, as determined by Folin-Ciocalteu assay, was higher in the peel than in the pulp. We found that total phenolic content correlated significantly with antioxidant capacity. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection revealed the presence of the flavonoids quercetin and rutin in some fruits. We also evaluated the allelopathic effects of the crude ethanol extract and semipurified fractions. In most of the essays, the ethyl acetate fractions showed the highest level of activity.