In vitro studies of antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antibacterial activities of Theobroma cacao, Anonna muricata and Clitoria ternatea

Chromatographic Fingerprinting of Cacao Pod Husk Extracts (Theobroma cacao L.): Exploring Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Antidiabetic Properties with In Silico Molecular Docking Analysis

Natural drugs derived from plants are becoming more popular because of their apparent biological efficacy, affordability, and safety. A byproduct of cocoa farms, cocoa pod husk (CPH), is often disregarded yet contains an abundance of phenolic chemicals that have antimicrobial and antioxidant features, which has led to intensive investigation into possible biomedical applications. In order to identify crucial functional groups and phytochemical components, we carefully examined the 80% ethanol and dichloromethane extracts of CPH using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and HPLC. The antibacterial and antioxidant properties of such extracts and their impact on cytotoxicity and α-glucosidase were explored. According to our results, the 80% ethanol and dichloromethane extracts contained 19 and 12 phytochemical components, respectively. Interestingly, at 250 µg/mL, all CPH extracts showed strong antibacterial properties that totally prevented the bacterial growth. At 66.6% and 82.7%, respectively, the ethanol and dichloromethane extracts showed impressive antioxidant and DPPH scavenging capabilities where the ethanol extract showed a substantially lower IC50 value of 35.26 µg/mL than the dichloromethane extract, which had an IC50 value of 23.88 µg/mL. Furthermore, the α-glucosidase inhibitory effect of the dichloromethane extract was found to be better, as shown by its IC50 value of 126.5 µg/mL, which was lower than that of the ethanol extract at 151.3 µg/mL. The extracts' compatibility was verified by cytotoxicity tests, which revealed no appreciable alterations in the cell lines. Additionally, novel in silico molecular docking experiments were performed on 25 discovered compounds, providing insight into their possible bioactivity. Broad-spectrum activities of extracts were confirmed by molecular docking investigations aimed at interacting with α-glucosidase proteins. Our thorough analysis makes CPH extracts seem like the excellent candidates for biomedical uses. These results provide new insights into the therapeutic potential of CPH extracts and pave the way for the development of innovative medications and natural remedies.

A green method for anthocyanin extraction from Clitoria ternatea flowers cultivated in southern Brazil: Characterization, in vivo toxicity, and biological activity

This study aimed to develop a green method to obtain an anthocyanin-rich edible extract of Clitoria ternatea flowers grown in southern Brazil. The extract was characterized by UHPLC-MSn and analyzed for toxicological potential in an in vivo model, total phenolic content, and biological activities. By using a 23 multivariate design to study the effects of temperature, acidified solvent, and time on the total anthocyanin content (487.25 mg/g), total phenolic content (2242.47 mgGAE/g), it was possible to determine the optimal point (45 °C, 16 min, and 22.5 mL extraction solution). Thirteen anthocyanins and nine non-anthocyanins were quantified. In vivo toxicity assay using Galleria mellonella showed a safe concentration when administered up to 2.2 g of extract per body kg. The extract showed antioxidant activity and antibacterial action against food pathogens, the method proved to have a low environmental impact, in addition to producing an extract with potential for application in food.

Optimizing vacuum drying process of polyphenols, flavanols and DPPH radical scavenging assay in pod husk and bean shell cocoa

The objective of this study was to optimize different vacuum drying conditions for cocoa pod husk and cocoa bean shell in order to enhance these by-products for commercial applications. To carry out the optimization, the response surface methodology was applied using a Box-Behnken experimental design with 15 experiments for which different conditions of temperature (X1), drying time (X2) and vacuum pressure (X3) were established. The response variables were the content of total polyphenols, the content of flavanols and the radical scavenging activity evaluated in the extracts of the different experiments. Temperature (50-70 °C), drying time (3-12 h) and vacuum pressure (50-150 mbar) were considered as independent variables. The main factors affecting the response variables were temperature, followed by vacuum pressure. For the content of polyphenols, the optimal response values predicted for the cocoa pod husk was 11.17 mg GAE/g with a confidence limit (95%) of 9.05 to 13.28 mg GAE/g (optimal conditions: 65 °C, 8 h and 75 mbar), while for the cocoa bean shell cocoa was 29.61 mg GAE/g with a confidence limit (95%) of 26.95 to 32.26 mg GAE/g (optimal conditions: 50 °C, 5 h and 100 mbar). Therefore, results of this study suggest a high content of phenolic compounds obtained from these by-products that show relevance as functional ingredients for application in the food, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical industries.

Effect-Directed Profiling of Akebia quinata and Clitoria ternatea via High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography, Planar Assays and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Two herbal plants, Akebia quinata D. leaf/fruit and Clitoria ternatea L. flower, well-known in traditional medicine systems, were investigated using a non-target effect-directed profiling. High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) was combined with 11 different effect-directed assays, including two multiplex bioassays, for assessing their bioactivity. Individual active zones were heart-cut eluted for separation via an orthogonal high-performance liquid chromatography column to heated electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-HESI-HRMS) for tentative assignment of molecular formulas according to literature data. The obtained effect-directed profiles provided information on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging, antibacterial (against Bacillus subtilis and Aliivibrio fischeri), enzyme inhibition (tyrosinase, α-amylase, β-glucuronidase, butyrylcholinesterase, and acetylcholinesterase), endocrine (agonists and antagonists), and genotoxic (SOS-Umu-C) activities. The main bioactive compound zones in A. quinata leaf were tentatively assigned to be syringin, vanilloloside, salidroside, α-hederin, cuneataside E, botulin, and oleanolic acid, while salidroside and quinatic acids were tentatively identified in the fruit. Taraxerol, kaempherol-3-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-glucoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside, and octadecenoic acid were tentatively found in the C. ternatea flower. This straightforward hyphenated technique made it possible to correlate the biological properties of the herbs with possible compounds. The meaningful bioactivity profiles contribute to a better understanding of the effects and to more efficient food control and food safety.

Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties of a Functional Sports Beverage Formulation

Athletes often consume functional beverages in order to improve performance and reduce oxidative stress caused by high-intensity exercise. The present study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of a functional sports beverage formulation. The beverage's antioxidant effects were assessed on human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by determining thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS; TBARS levels decreased significantly by 52.67% at 2.0 mg/mL), total antioxidant capacity (TAC; TAC levels increased significantly by 80.82% at 2.0 mg/mL) and reduced glutathione (GSH; GSH levels increased significantly by 24.13% at 2.0 mg/mL) levels. Furthermore, the beverage underwent simulated digestion following the INFOGEST protocol to assess its oxidative stability. The analysis of the total phenolic content (TPC) using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay revealed that the beverage contained a TPC of 7.58 ± 0.066 mg GAE/mL, while the phenolics identified by HPLC were catechin (2.149 mg/mL), epicatechin (0.024 mg/mL), protocatechuic acid (0.012 mg/mL), luteolin 7-glucoside (0.001 mg/mL), and kaempferol-3-O-β-rutinoside (0.001 mg/mL). The beverage's TPC was strongly correlated with TAC (R² = 896). Moreover, the beverage showcased inhibitory and bacteriostatic effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Lastly, the sensory acceptance test demonstrated that the functional sports beverage was well accepted by the assessors.

Growth Promoting Activity of Annona muricata L. Leaf Extracts on Lactobacillus casei

Soursop leaves are a source of phytochemical compounds, such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, hydrolyzable tannins, and acetogenins. These compounds can have several types of biological activities. Lactic acid bacteria can uptake phenolic compounds present in plants or fruits. The aim of the present work was to investigate the in vitro effect of hexane, acetone, methanolic, and aqueous extracts of soursop leaves (Annona muricata L.) on the growth, motility, and biofilm formation of Lactobacillus casei, and to determine compounds related to growth. The minimum concentration promoting growth, motility (swimming, swarming, and twitching), and biofilm-forming capacity (crystal violet) were evaluated. The results showed the growth-promoting capacity of acetone and aqueous extracts at low doses 25-50 mg/L, and an inhibition in the four extracts at higher doses of 100 mg/L. The L. casei growth is related to ellagic acid, quercetin rhamnoside, kaempferol dihexoside, quercetin hexoside, secoisolariciresinol, and kaempferol hexoside-rhamnoside. Hexane extract increased the three types of motility, while aqueous maintained swimming and twitching motility similar to control. The four extracts inhibited the biofilm formation capacity.

In-Vitro Screenings for Biological and Antioxidant Activities of Water Extract from Theobroma cacao L. Pod Husk: Potential Utilization in Foods

Increasing production of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) leads to a higher environmental burden due to its solid waste generation. Cocoa pod husk, one of the major solid wastes of cocoa production, contains rich bioactive compounds unveiling its valorization potential. With that in mind, our research aimed to explore the biological and antioxidant activities of aqueous extracts from cocoa pod husks. In this present work, cocoa pod husk was extracted using water and subsequentially partitioned using n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. The antimicrobial investigation revealed that the ethyl acetate solubles were active against the Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans, where at a 20% w/v concentration, the inhibition diameters were 6.62 ± 0.10, 6.52 ± 0.02, and 11.72 ± 0.36 mm, respectively. The extracts were found non-toxic proven by brine shrimp lethality tests against Artemia salina with LC50 scores ranging from 74.1 to 19,054.6 μg/mL. The total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were obtained in the range of 47.44 to 570.44 mg/g GAE and 1.96 to 4.34 mg/g QE, respectively. Antioxidant activities of the obtained extracts were revealed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) assay with EC50 reached as low as 9.61 μg/mL by the ethyl acetate soluble. Phytochemical screening based on gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis on the sample with the highest antioxidant activities revealed the dominant presence of three phytosterols, namely gamma-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol.