PHARMACOLOGICAL, PHYTOCHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF THREE MAYAN ACCESSIONS OF BIXA ORELLANA L. LEAVES

Addy Leticia Zarza-García; Enrique Sauri-Duch; Denise Raddatz-Mota; Luis Fernando Cuevas-Glory; Luis Leonardo Pinzón-López; Fernando Rivera-Cabrera; Jose Mendoza-Espinoza

doi:10.9755/ejfa.2016-09-1283

Authors

Addy Leticia Zarza-García Programa del Doctorado de Ciencias de los Alimentos y Biotecnología. Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Yucatán, México
Enrique Sauri-Duch Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida, Yucatán, México
Denise Raddatz-Mota Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa. Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina, C.P. 09340, México
Luis Fernando Cuevas-Glory Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida, Yucatán, México
Luis Leonardo Pinzón-López Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Conkal, Manejo y Biotecnología de los Recursos Genéticos de Cultivos Hortícolas Tropicales, Yucatán, México
Fernando Rivera-Cabrera Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa. Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina, C.P. 09340, México
Jose Mendoza-Espinoza Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades, Academia de Biología Humana, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, México, D.F., Cátedra Alfredo Sánchez Marroquín

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.9755/ejfa.2016-09-1283

Keywords:

achiote, anti-inflammatory activity, antioxidant capacity, phytochemical analysis, total phenolic compounds

Abstract

Achiote (Bixa orellana L.) is a plant native to tropical America. The seeds of this plant are often used in the food industry, but the leaves are underutilized. In the southeastern region of Mexico, the annatto leaves are used in the traditional Mayan medicine. While the dosage and the quality remain unclear, and we studied the chemical profile and biological activity of annatto leaves from three accessions. The qualitative analysis showed low presence of saponins and abundant anthraquinones. The annatto leaf extracts of accessions 2 and 3 had a higher content of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity compared to accession 1. Accession 3 showed anti-inflammatory effects similar to indomethacin. In conclusion, the annatto leaves of accession 3 could be used to prepare phytomedicines due to its anti-inflammatory capacity. These results add medicinal and economic value to this crop, and indicate the importance of performing detailed pharmacological studies.