ANTIOXIDANT, CYTOTOXIC AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF Annona vepretorum MART. (ANNONACEAE)

Annona vepretorum Mart. is an endemic species to the Caatinga biome known in Northeast Brazil as "araticum". Phenolic compounds were determined in extracts of leaves. The total phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Total flavonoid content was also measured. Antioxidant activities of the extracts were assayed by DPPH radical scavenging and inhibition of beta-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching and compared with ascorbic acid, BHA and BHT, used as reference compounds. Cytotoxicity analysis in HCT-116, OVCAR-8 and SF-295 cells were carried out. The antibacterial effect was evaluated by the method of microdilution. The total phenolic content of ethanolic extract (Av-EtOH) was 76.60 +/- 5.57 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g. The total flavonoid content was 194.50 +/- 11.72 mg of catechin equivalent/g for the hexane extract. The EtOH extract exhibited good antioxidant activity, with an IC50 of 98.87 +/- 11.24 mu g/ml. The extracts showed cytotoxic and antibacterial activities against most of the line cells and microorganisms tested. Further research will be carried out to achieve the isolation and identification of the main phenolic constituents of the extracts.