Antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of Garcinia brasiliensis extracts

The aim of this study was to chemically characterize and evaluate the biological activities of ethanolic and aqueous extracts from its leaf, bark and seed of Garcinia brasiliensis. The total content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids present in the extracts was quantified, and biological screenings were performed to verify antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the studied extracts. The extract with the highest content of phenolic compounds was the leaf aqueous extract (LAE), presenting 343.98 ± 4.8 mg GA/g. The most relevant flavonoid contents were observed in the seed ethanolic extract and in the leaf aqueous extract, presenting, respectively, 47.10 ± 0.2 and 45.62 ± 0.7 mg quercetin/g of extract. The important antioxidant activity was observed in the seed ethanolic extract, with 86.57% of DPPH free radical scavenging. On the other hand, the LAE displayed a great antimicrobial activity (IC50 of 1 μg/mL against S. aureus). Analysis by high performance liquid chromatography was carried out using the LAE and the presence of fukugentin-7”-O-β-D-glycoside (fukugiside) and fukugetin was detected. The cytotoxic effect of LAE was evaluated and showed no cytotoxic activity in normal cells. Considering this, the results show that the fukugiside present in LAE display an important antibacterial and antifungal activity, so this has great potential as antimicrobial agent.