Estudo comparativo de Glycyrrhiza glabra (alcaçuz) e Periandra dulcis (alcaçuz-da-terra)

Abstract

The Fabaceae family is comprised of approximately 18 000 species in 650 genera, with wide geographic distribution. The species Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) and Periandra dulcis (licorice-of-the-earth) belong to the family Fabaceae. Licorice displays a variety of pharmacological activities, such as antiulcer, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, among others. In ethnomedicine Brazilian, P. dulcis is used as a substitute/adulterant G. glabra. This study aimed to differentiate plants for antioxidant activity, the HPLC chromatographic profile and the antimicrobial activity. Plants roots were ground and macerated using as solvent ethanol: water (70:30, v/v). Became fractionation of crude extracts with organic solvents of increasing polarity (CH2Cl2, EtOAc, n-BuOH). The crude extract and the fractions were investigated for the content of total polyphenols, the antioxidant activity by DPPH and the inhibition of lipid peroxidation by TBARS method. The content of total phenolics ranged from 70.29 ± 2.98 to 85.78 ± 1.08 mg/g for P. dulcis and 137.7 ± 1.37 to 83.26 ± 2.71 mg/g to G. glabra. In the DPPH assay, the dichloromethane fraction was most effective in capturing free radicals in both plants. The butanol fraction of P. dulcis showed the greatest inhibition of TBARS, with IC50 of 1.38 ± 1.22 μg/mL and better chart the decay. In G. glabra, the dichloromethane fraction showed the best IC50 of 1.91 ± 0.73 μg/mL, but the best graphic decay was observed in the crude extract. Using the method proposed by the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia Fourth Edition, it was possible to differentiate the plants through the HPLC profiles. The absence of glycyrrhizin acid is evidence of falsification. However, the method does not allow the identification of the plant adulterant. The antimicrobial activity of the species was similar, varying only for Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Fusarium proliferatum. The sub-fractionation of P. dulcis improved activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella pullorum.