ANALYSIS OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM BROMELIA BALANSAE MEZ PEEL BY LC-MS/MS

Bromelia balansae Mez, commonly referred to as caraguatá, is an angiosperm native to the Atlantic Forest and is also found in the Cerrado, riparian forests, and rocky blocks. Due to its fruit has still been minimally explored, a qualitative characterization using LC-MS/MS was conducted. This analysis was complemented by quantitative assessments of total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity (FRAP method) of aqueous extracts from the peels of fruits harvested in Tarumã-SP (TE), Ribeirão das Antas-SP (RAE), and Assis-SP (ripe (ARE) and immature (AIE) fruits). The various collection locations significantly influenced the levels of bioactive compounds. AIE exhibited higher concentrations of total phenolics (39.58 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (6.88 mg/g), as well as greater antioxidant activity (265.83 mg/g Trolox) compared to the other samples, including ARE, indicating that the degree of maturation affects the concentration and activity of the bioactive compounds present in the extracts. Data obtained via LC-MS/MS indicated that the primary group identified consisted of glycosylated flavonoids, including kaempferitrin, kaempferol-3-rutinoside, apigenin-C-hexose, kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, and kaempferol-coumaroyl-hexose, which were common across all four samples. The impact of the collection site on the compounds identified in each extract was again evident; TE contained the lowest number of compounds (6), despite exhibiting higher antioxidant activity (105.79 mg/g Trolox) than ARE (72.78 mg/g Trolox), which displayed the greatest diversity of compounds (12). ARE and AIE demonstrated similar compositions, differing only in two compounds: kaempferol-7-O-rhamnoside (EAM) and cirsimarin (EAI). Notably, the antioxidant activity of AIE (265.83 mg/g Trolox) was significantly higher than that of ARE (233.13 mg/g Trolox). In addition to the composition, the quantity and synergistic interactions among the compounds may influence antioxidant activity. Overall, the different collection sites, as well as the degree of maturation, significantly affected the composition, quantification, and antioxidant activity of the aqueous extracts of Bromelia balansae Mez.