β-ecdysone content and antioxidant capacity in different organs of Brazilian ginseng

ABSTRACT: Plants that contain antioxidant compounds have attracted increasing interest for their vital role in the attenuation of oxidative damage caused by free radicals and in the treatment of various diseases. The present study investigated the β-ecdysone content and the antioxidant activity of Brazilian ginseng (Pfaffia glomerata) extracts obtained from inflorescences, stems, and roots. The P. glomerata extracts were tested for antioxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method, β-carotene bleaching test, and phosphomolybdenum method. The β-ecdysone content of P. glomerata extracts was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The P. glomerata inflorescences showed the strongest DPPH radical scavenging activity and the strongest antioxidant activity in the β-carotene bleaching assay and phosphomolybdenum test. The roots showed the lowest antioxidant capacity in all of the assays. The concentration of β-ecdysone in the plant organs followed the following decreasing order: inflorescences > stems > roots. The present study showed that P. glomerata inflorescence extract had high antioxidant capacity that could be attributed to the presence of β-ecdysone.

Determination of β-ecdysone in infusions of different organs of Brazilian ginseng (Pfaffia glomerata) by high-performance liquid chromatography

A Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen é uma planta medicinal conhecida como ginseng brasileiro. Tradicionalmente, apenas as suas raízes são utilizadas para fins comerciais, em função do seu teor conhecido de β-ecdisona. Neste trabalho, as concentrações de β-ecdisona em infusões aquosas de folhas, flores, raízes e caules de indivíduos de seis meses e de três anos de idade foram determinadas por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (HPLC). As análises foram realizadas em HPLC LC-4000 Jasco®, com uma coluna de fase reversa (Fortis®, C18, 250 × 4,6 nm, 5 μm), e a absorbância foi medida em 245 nm. A fase móvel foi uma mistura de metanol e água. O volume de injeção foi de 20 μL e a vazão de 1 mL/min. O tempo total da corrida foi de 15 min. A maior concentração foi obtida para as folhas do indivíduo de três anos de idade (1,65 ± 0,14%) seguida pelas folhas do indivíduo de seis meses (1,07 ± 0,1%). As amostras de flores, de raiz e de caule do indivíduo de três anos, apresentaram: 1,14 ± 0,10%, 0,68 ± 0,05% e 0,62 ± 0,06% de β-ecdisona, respectivamente. Nas amostras do indivíduo de seis meses foram observados teores det0,37 ± 0,12%, 0,37 ± 0,12% e 0,56 ± 0,02% para flores, raiz e caule respectivamente. Os resultados sugerem que as partes aéreas da planta também podem ser de interesse comercial, visto que as folhas apresentaram as maiores concentrações nas duas idades.

Clean Technologies for Obtaining Biocomposites of Brazilian Ginseng Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen: A Review

The Brazilian ginseng Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen belongs to the Amaranthaceae family and has as its main component β-ecdysone, a phytoecdysteroid, found in the roots, stem, flowers and leaves of the plant. In the last years sustainability and the environment concern were decisive for the emerging supercritical fluid extraction and pressurized fluid extraction technologies to obtain biocomposites from the plant. These extraction technologies use solvents (CO2, ethanol and water) and uses as controllable parameters pressure, flow, time and temperature. The combination of these factors generates atoxicity, no residue in the final extract and have a reduced energy cost and an excellent extraction yield. This work reviews the literature from 2007 to 2020 on the use of clean technology to obtain chemical biocomposites of interest in the areas of biology, agronomy, food and pharmaceutics. It is was concluded that the supercritical fluid extraction and pressurized liquid extraction extracts were very efficient in obtaining β-ecdysone, since both presents low energy consumption, uses environmentally correct solvents which reduces harmful effects on the environment. Finally, to choose the best technology for extraction of other biocomposites depends on the chemical compound of interest.

Cryopreservation of Shoot Tips of “Brazilian Ginseng” (Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen) by Vitrification

Pfaffia glomerata (Amaranthaceae), “Brazilian Ginseng”, is a medicinal plant used in folk medicine. Roots are used as a tonic to restore and enhance wellbeing and for treatment of arthritis, gastritis and rheumatism. Conservation of P. glomerata germplasm is a priority and cryopreservation is the most promising technique for long-term storage of plant genetic resources. Hence, the objective of this work was to develop a cryopreservation protocol for shoot tips of P. glomerata using vitrification techniques. For cryopreservation, shoot tips (ST) from in vitro grown plants were pre-cultured for 19 hr on MS medium containing 0.3 M sucrose, treated with loading and vitrification solutions prior to rapid freezing by direct plunge in liquid nitrogen, rapid thawing on a water bath at 38±2 °C and treatment with a dilution solution. Three vitrification solutions (PVS2, PVS3 and PVS4), three exposure times (20 min., 40 min. and 60 min.) and two temperatures (25 °C and 0 °C) were tested. After cryopreservation, rewarmed shoot tips were inoculated on MS growth medium and the best regeneration percentages were 63%, 42% and 65% for shoot tips treated with PVS2, PVS3 and PVS4, respectively, for 60 min., at 25 °C. The results obtained show that vitrification with PVS2 and PVS4, at 25 °C, for 60 min were the best treatments for successful cryopreservation of shoot tips of in vitro grown plantlets of P. glomerata and that cryopreservation is suitable for ex situ conservation of the germplasm of this medicinal species.