Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of 'acai' (Euterpe precatoria Mart.)

Decoction of roots of the Amazonian palm acai (Euterpe precatoria Mart.) is widely used by Brazilian and Peruvian people as an anti-inflammatory, to heal kidney and liver diseases and against snake bites. In this study, the antioxidant activity of extracts and flavonoids (quercetin, catechin, epicatechin, rutin and astilbin) isolated from roots and leaf stalks of E. precatoria was investigated using beta-carotene in TLC plates and DPPH radical scavenging in a spectrophotometric bioassay. All extracts and flavonoids showed activity. Also, the cytotoxic activity of these extracts was evaluated by the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) larvicide bioassay and was lower than that of lapachol. used as control. The presence of flavonoids and sitosterol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside in the extracts can justify the use of the plant in traditional medicine.