Schinus terebinthifolius: Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity

CARNEIRO, M. J.1; SAWAYA, A. C.H.F.1,2
1. Department of Plant Biology, IB, UNICAMP
2. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNICAMP

S. terebinthifolius Raddi belongs to the Anacardiaceae family. It is found throughout Brazil and many parts of South America and was introduced as an exotic plant in Southern Africa and the United States (California). Its popular name is Brazilian Pepper Tree. This study compared the antioxidant activities and chemical composition of the ethanolic extracts of different parts of this plant, collected in October and September 2016 from a tree planted in the experimental field of the Institute of Biology (UNICAMP, Campinas, SP). The voucher specimen (192290) was deposited at the UEC herbarium. These fresh samples were extracted with pure ethanol in ultrasound bath for 30 min. This process was repeated and the extracts were filtered. The organic fractions combined and concentrated under vacuum.
The chemical composition was analyzed using a UPLC Acquity chromatographer coupled to a TQD Acquity mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization in the negative and positive ion modes. For the chromatographic separation 2 μl of the extracts (1µg/mL) above were injected using a C18 BEH Waters Acquity (2.1 mm × 50 mm × 1.7 μm) column. The analysis followed these conditions: solvent A (0.1% ammonium hydroxide solution in purified water); solvent B chromatographic grade methanol; beginning 25% A and 75% B, ramping to 100% B in 7.5 min, maintaining these conditions until 8.5 minutes, then returning to the initial conditions and stabilizing until 10 min. The antiradical activity of the extracts, was determined using the stable 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical. Using a 96-well microplate, the extracts and the standard (quercetin) were diluted in pure ethanol, added in different concentrations (6-200 µg/mL). Absorbance at 517 nm was determined after 30 min. The values of EC50 (Table 1) were calculated using GraphPad Prism 6 software. Different parts of the Pepper Tree have a similar composition, mainly the buds and flowers. The leaves showed the simplest composition in negative ion mode. The fruit exhibited specific compounds that were not observed in extracts of other parts of the plant. Some of these compounds have been reported in other studies of this species. Extracts exhibited different capacity to reduce DPPH, in spite of their similar composition. The extracts of buds had more antioxidant potential than the other extracts and the fruits extracts showed no activity in these concentrations. The antioxidant activity may be related the concentration of more than one compound in these extracts, as the EC50 values were close to those of the pure standard of quercetin (positive control).
Table 1. EC50 values of extracts by DPPH test.
Samples EC50 (µg/mL)
Leaves 8.63
Buds 4.97
Flowers 7.05
Fruit Nd*
Quercetin 2.67
*Nd: non determined
Reference: Uliana, M. P., Fronza, M., da Silva, A. G., Vargas, T. S., de Andrade, T. U., & Scherer, R. (2016). Composition and biological activity of Brazilian rose pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) leaves. Industrial Crops and Products,83, 235-240.