Effect of Phenolic Extract from Passion Fruit Seeds (Passiflora edulis) on Hepatic Oxidative Stress in Obese Mice

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) is a tropical fruit widely used in the food industry for juice and pulp production, generating large amounts of agro-industrial residues, especially seeds. Passion fruit seeds are rich in phenolic compounds, particularly the stilbene piceatannol, analog of resveratrol, with antioxidant properties. In this context, the use of these byproducts may represent a promising alternative source of bioactive compounds capable of attenuating metabolic alterations associated with obesity. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of passion fruit seed phenolic extract (PFSE) on biochemical parameters and hepatic oxidative stress in obese mice.Thirty-two mice were divided into four experimental groups: standard diet group (AIN); high-fat diet group (HF); high-fat diet supplemented with passion fruit seed phenolic extract (HF + PFSE); and high-fat diet supplemented with piceatannol (HF + PIC). Plasma biochemical analyses of uric acid, urea, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were performed using commercial kits. In liver homogenates, antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and catalase (CAT), as well as oxidative stress markers malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyls (PC), and nitric oxide (NO), were evaluated. Student’s t-test was used to compare AIN and HF groups, while ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test was applied to compare HF and treatment groups. No differences were observed among groups for uric acid, urea, and AST levels. However, ALT levels were higher in the HF group compared to the AIN group, suggesting mild liver alteration induced by the high-fat diet. Regarding oxidative stress parameters, no differences were observed for SOD, CAT, GST, and NO between HF and AIN groups, whereas MDA and PC levels were higher in the HF group. In the treatment groups, HF + PFSE and HF + PIC showed lower SOD and CAT activities than the HF group. In addition, GST activity was lower in the HF + PIC group compared to both HF and HF + PFSE groups, while no differences were observed between HF and HF + PFSE. For oxidative stress markers, HF + PFSE and HF + PIC groups presented lower NO, MDA, and PC concentrations compared to the HF group, with a more pronounced effect in the HF + PIC group.These results suggest that both PFSE and piceatannol exert protective effects against high-fat diet-induced hepatic oxidative stress by reducing biomarkers of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. The reduced antioxidant enzyme activities may indicate a lower requirement for endogenous antioxidant defense due to the action of phenolic compounds in attenuating hepatic oxidative stress. Furthermore, PFSE and piceatannol did not promote hepatic or renal damage according to biochemical analyses and demonstrated antioxidant potential by improving oxidative stress-related parameters. We thank CAPES, CNPq, FAPEMIG, and PPGCN-UFV for financial support.