Enzymatic treatment improves the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of Adenanthera pavonina L. seeds

Abstract We evaluated the effect of enzymatic treatment by amylase, cellulase and protease on antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of Adenanthera pavonina L. seeds. The effect was evaluated by using an experimental mixture design. The results showed that the antioxidant activity of the seeds increased after the enzymatic treatment. The enzymatic treatment using protease and cellulase (1:1, v/v) showed the highest values of antioxidant activity due to the increase of phenolic compounds content, mainly phenolic acids. The antiproliferative activity of the extract obtained by optimum enzymatic treatment was evaluated. We found the antiproliferative activity against the tumour lineage of prostate (PC-3) and kidney (786–0) was improved after enzymatic treatment. This work provides information that may be useful in handling of functional foods and/or drugs, since the functional properties of seeds such as antioxidant and antitumor activities were improved by enzymatic treatment with protease and cellulase.