Adulteration and contamination of commercial sap of Hymenaea species

Abstract

The Hymenaea stigonocarpa and Hymenaea martiana species, commonly known as "jatobá," produce a sap which is extracted by perforation of the trunk and is commonly used in folk medicine as a tonic. For this study, the authenticity of commercial samples of jatobá was verified by the identification of the main compounds and multivariate analysis and contamination by microbial presence analysis.The acute toxicity of the authentic jatobá sap was also evaluated.The metabolites composition and multivariate analysis revealed that none of the commercial samples were authentic. In the microbiological contamination analysis, five of the six commercial samples showed positive cultures within the range of 1,700-100,000 CFU/mL and the authentic sap produced no signs of toxicity, and from a histological point of view, there was the maintenance of tissue integrity. In brief, the commercial samples were deemed inappropriate for consumption and represent a danger to the population.