CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF THE PSEUDOSTEM OF MUSA X PARADISIACA L (BANANA)

Abstract

The objective of the research was to evaluate the chemical and biological properties of aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of the pseudostem of Musa x paradisiaca L. The vegetable raw material was characterized by physic-chemical methods. The qualitative chemical study of the extracts was carried out through phytochemical screening, by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS), suggesting the presence of saponins, phenolic compounds and reducing sugars. The saponins were quantified in the three extracts, obtaining the highest concentration in the aqueous and hydroalcoholic (1:1). The quantification of phenolic compounds by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, perceiving that the hydroalcoholic extract (1:1) showed the highest amount of such metabolites. The expectorant activity of the hydroalcoholic extract (1:1), following the phenol red model in mouse secretions, at the dose tested (500 mg / kg of animal weight) showed a mucolytic effect similar to the positive control (Bisolvon). The study of the effect of the extract on the Cerithidea valida gastropod did not reveal a lethal effect under the conditions studied. The immediate retraction of the body of the mollusk inside the shell and the occlusion of the opening with the operculum was detected, which caused the immobility of the mollusks, a behavior attributed to the probable irritant action of the extract.