Phytochemical analysis, nutritional profile and immunostimulatory activity of aqueous extract from Malpighia emarginata DC leaves

Abstract The research of new natural compounds known as biomolecules increasingly demonstrates the importance of the correlation between ethnopharmacological use and the scientific evidence of its therapeutic efficacy. In this study, we investigated the main structural constituents of the plant and analyzed the phytochemical profile, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial and immunostimulatory effects on Balb/c mice splenocytes promoted by the aqueous extract obtained from leaves of Malpighia emarginata DC. The nutritional analysis of the vitamins present in the aqueous extract was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and colorimetric methods were used for the quantification of vitamin C, elimination of ABTS radicals, nitric oxide radicals and lipid peroxidation assays. The antibiofilm assay was performed by atomic absorbance spectrophotometry, using clinically important species of Candida spp. The measurement of cytokine levels was performed by CBA technique in flow cytometry. Results showed a high presence of glucose (0.4 g/L), lignin (20%) and pectin (21%) in organic material, as well as the prevalence of Fe2+ (103.10 μg/100 g) and Mn (10.33 μg/100 g). The aqueous extract showed the presence of C and B3 Vitamins and induced a reduction of biofilm production against C. kurei and C. parapsilosis. The immunological assay demonstrated that the extract promotes an immunostimulatory and anti-inflammatory profile, with significant production of Th2 type cytokines (IL-4, IL-10 and IL-6) and a significant reduction of nitric oxide release. The aqueous extract of leaves from M. emarginata has biological potential to be used in several diseases, as well as for future pharmacological and nutritional studies.