Extração sólido-líquido de compostos da Averrhoa carambola L. e avaliação de sua atividade citotóxica

Abstract

The carambola is classified mainly as sweet or acidic, according to the concentration of oxalic acid present in the pulp. The fruit has a large list of essential nutrients and vitamins. There are studies that report that neurotoxicity occurs due to the high concentrations of oxalic acid in the carambola in conjunction with the caramboxin toxin, which may be toxic to the health of patients with kidney problems because they can not eliminate this neurotoxin from the body. Thus, the present project aimed at the solid-liquid extraction of fruit compounds, with green and mature maturation, their physico-chemical characterization, and cytotoxicity and mutagenicity analysis in meristematic cells of Allium cepa L. and hepatoma cells of Rattus norvegicus (HTC), aiming to obtain more knowledge about the cellular effects of this fruit. The roots of A. cepa, treated with concentrations of 5 μg / mL; 500 μg / mL and 1000 μg / mL of carambola ethanolic extracts, in both types of maturation, presented cytotoxicity due to the reduction of mitotic indices in all the treatments used. Only the concentration of 5 μg / mL crude ethanolic extract of mature carambola increased cell division, but this was the only treatment that indicated mutagenicity. In the 24 hours time of the cytotoxicity test with the hepatic tumor cells (HTC), the crude ethanolic extract of mature carambola, at concentrations of 200 μg / mL, 500 μg / mL and 1000 μg / mL, presented cell proliferation inducing effect. At 48 hours, all concentrations of crude ethanolic extract of mature carambola induced tumor cell division, as well as concentrations of 10 μg / mL and 500 μg / mL of the green carambola extract. At 72 hours the induction of cell division ceased and both extracts presented mean absorbances similar to those of the negative control. Thus, the data of the present study show that, despite the high extraction yield (green carambola: 12.57%, mature carambola: 10.62%) of the presence of antioxidants in the extracts produced (green carambola: 93.25%, carambola mature: 92.55% inhibition of DPPH in 30 minutes), other solvents should be evaluated with the carambola fruit in order to obtain extracts that are more biologically efficient.