Bioactive compounds and hepatoprotective effect of Hancornia speciosa gomes fruit juice on acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in vivo

Abstract

Hancornia speciosa Gomes (HS) is a Brazilian fruit tree used in inflammatory disorders by folk medicine. Here we sought to investigate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties of HS fruit juice in acetaminophen-induced hepatoxicity model in rats, as well as to perform a comprehensive chemical characterization of phenolics and metals by mass spectrometry. HS showed hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity by decreasing MDA and liver injury markers at healthy control levels. In addition, liver histopathological analysis revealed that HS decreases hepatocellular degeneration. Chemical characterization revealed 16 different phenolics, being chlorogenic acid (150 ± 5 µg/g) and rutin (120 ± 8 µg/g) the major phenolics in HS. Among the 14 micronutrients we identified, zinc and boron were the most abundant metals detected in HS. In line with previous studies involving liver diseases, our data supports evidence that such phenolics and metals present in HS may prevent liver injury induced by acetaminophen.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Hancornia speciosa Gomes
• mangaba
• polyphenol
• acetaminophen
• antioxidant
• hepatoprotective
• mass spectrometry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are grateful to Professor Sandro Navickiene from Universidade Federal de Sergipe for his support over the course of this project. We also acknowledge Prof. Masuo J. Kato and Lydia F. Yamaguchi from the University of Sao Paulo for providing polyphenols standards. The authors acknowledge the financial support of CNPq and INCT - REDOXOMA.