Avaliação dos efeitos antioxidantes do araçá ( psidium cattleianum sabine) sobre caenorhabditis elegans e suas implicações na resistência ao estresse e longevidade

Abstract

The present study evaluated the characteristics and effects of araçá extracts (Psidium cattleianum Sabine), a native fruit of the southern region of Brazil that, when mature, presents the yellow and red varieties. The yellow and red extracts were characterized in terms of total phenolic, flavonoid and carotenoid content. Antioxidant activity in vitro was determined by the DPPH and FRAP methods. Both extracts showed a high content of phenolic compounds, flavonoids and carotenoids and showed no significant differences between them in the total compounds content or in vitro antioxidant activity. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis. elegans was verified the antioxidant capacity against the stressor agents hydrogen peroxide and juglone, in addition to the measurement of ROS using the DCF-DA method. Both extracts did not cause toxicity in the organism at the concentrations tested (5 to 5000μg chlorogenic acid equivalent/mL) as demonstrated by the survival and reproduction analyzes, as well as were able to increase the longevity of C. elegans under normal maintenance conditions. Even with high content of compounds with recognized antioxidant activity the extracts presented different behaviors in relation to the stressors, with some improvement in the damages generated, but they were not enough to protect against all damages caused by H2O2 and juglone. We also found that they have the ability to reduce ROS production per se and when exposed to hydrogen peroxide, and were able to decrease the expression of hsp-16.2, which reflects the antioxidant capacity of its compounds. We conclude that extracts of yellow and red araçá have a rich composition of antioxidant compounds, improving survival, prolonging the useful life of the worms, and reduce the production of ROS in treated worms.