Caracterização e análise do pigmento azul dos arilos de Ravenala madagascariensis para incorporação em produtos de consumo humano

Abstract

Ravenala madagascariensis, known as the travelers' tree, is a tree from the Strelitziaceae family native to the island of Madagascar on the African continent, but very well adapted to the tropics, growing well in America, Asia and Australia. This species has important applications in the treatment of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, kidney stones, hypertension and aesthetic applications, with worldwide patents describing its application in cosmetics. Data on the use of this species, however, is still scarce and focused on the aerial parts of the plant. The objective of this study focuses on elucidating the chemical nature of the aril pigments of R. madagascariensis and their biological properties, standardizing their extraction for application in products for human use. The samples used were collected from specimens of R. madagascariensis from the city of Juiz de Fora – MG. The arils were manually removed from the seeds and stored at room temperature. The analysis by bright-field microscopy of the arils showed structures rich in isodiametric parenchymatic cells with thickening at their angles opposite to the intercellular spaces and the evaluation of this structure by scanning electron microscopy indicated a composition of carbon, oxygen, sodium, aluminum, sulfur and nitrogen in the sample. In order to characterize the presence of secondary metabolites, phytochemical tests were carried out with aril extracts obtained in Hexane, Ethanol and 10% SDS. The data obtained revealed the absence of secondary metabolites in the extracts. The result of the composition analysis detected a composition rich in lipids (81.45%), carbohydrates (7.03%), humidity (3.71%), ash (0.78%) and proteins and peptides (7.1% ). Thin layer chromatography of the extracts confirmed the presence of peptides/proteins and metabolites with antioxidant capacity, an important biological activity, in the extracts. With the separation of the components through electrophoresis in SDS-PAGE, it was possible to observe a protein profile with bands of approximately 14kDa that were evaluated by mass spectrometry. Spectrophotometer scans of the standardized extract during the factorial design developed in this work indicated significant absorption peaks at 400nm and 620nm, which may be related to the presence of chromophore groups in the extracts. The results obtained indicated that the substance that gives color to the arils of R. madagascariensis is not a secondary metabolite. The results suggest that a chromophore group associated with a protein is responsible for the unique characteristics of the extract, including its color and stability.