BIOPROSPECÇÃO DOS EXTRATOS HEXÂNICOS DE ASPIDOSPERMA SUBINCANUM (guatambu) E SUAS BIOATIVIDADES

Abstract

The biodiversity of the Brazilian Cerrado represents an important source of secondary metabolites with potential pharmaceutical and agro-industrial applications, particularly species of the Apocynaceae family, such as Aspidosperma subincanum, which is traditionally used in folk medicine. In this context, the objective was to bioprospect hexane extracts from the leaves and bark of A. subincanum, evaluating their chemical composition and biological activities. The extracts were obtained by maceration using hexane as a solvent and characterized by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), allowing the identification of volatile compounds, mainly sesquiterpenes. The extracts were subjected to biological assays to evaluate their antibacterial activity against the bacterium Xanthomonas citri, as well as their ability to inhibit the enzymes acetylcholinesterase, elastase, and α-amylase. In addition, molecular docking analysis was performed to investigate the interactions between the identified compounds and biological targets. The results demonstrated antibacterial activity and significant enzymatic inhibitory potential, indicating the presence of bioactive metabolites with possible applications in plant pathogens control and in the development of therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. The molecular analyses reinforced the affinity of the identified compounds for studied targets. The hexane extracts of A. subincanum exhibit biotechnological potential, highlighting the relevance of the Cerrado flora as a source of bioactive natural products.