The Jabuticaba

The jaboticabeira is typically Brazilian, belonging to the Angiosperma group and the Myrtaceae family. The Atlantic Forest holds 85% of the total described species in its associated ecosystems. In ethnobotanical studies in the Atlantic Forest of Bahia, myrtaceous species are among the four most important families in terms of traditional use value. Among the fruit species in this family, the jabuticabeira stands out. Peruvian Plinia (Poir) Govaerts. Plants produce many secondary metabolites with bioactive properties, and phenolic compounds are an example of these molecules. They are predominantly found in fruits, roots, leaves and seeds and participate in important metabolic pathways, with important physiological and morphological functions, such as: defense system, structure, reproduction and sensory properties (color, odor, taste, etc.).

The jabuticaba (Peruvian Plinia (Poir) Govaerts) is one of the most popular native Brazilian fruits, being consumed in the form of juice, wine, liqueur and jelly. The jaboticaba peel is normally discarded and represents 50% of the entire fruit, producing a significant amount of waste for the food industry, which may eventually be interesting as a source of compounds for the cosmetic industry. Interest in evaluating the medicinal potential of plants has grown in recent decades, increasingly identifying many molecules beneficial to human health, such as the wide range of phenolic compounds. The skins of the jabuticaba fruit are rich in anthocyanins, a class of phenolic compounds that give a variety of fruits and leaves their purple color, as well as tannins and acidic phenolic compounds. Anthocyanins have important biological effects, eg, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antidiabetic, as well as being active in the prevention of cardiovascular and ocular diseases. In particular, cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) and delphinidin 3-O-glucoside (D3G) act as electron receptors in the mitochondrial respiratory chain complex, increasing ATP synthesis in rat hearts subjected to ischemia. Studies have revealed that extracts from jaboticaba bark have medicinal properties with high antioxidant, antimutagenic and anti-inflammatory potential. Consumption of jaboticaba peel can also increase HDL cholesterol levels in Sprague-Dawley rats and insulin resistance in mice. Furthermore, anthocyanins have a protective effect on skin cells against damage induced by UV radiation, increasing the skin's level of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. Furthermore, phenolic acids and anthocyanins are considered effective in promoting wound healing, either by reducing the occlusion time of skin lesions or by attenuating inflammation. Anti-inflammatory effects observed are mainly related to the inhibition of the transcription factor NFκB, an important regulator of the inflammatory process. Thus, benefits to human health and cellular longevity have been attributed to the presence of anthocyanins and phenolic acids in jaboticaba peel. Therefore, the presence of secondary metabolites indicates additional functionalities to jabuticaba bark and its derivative products, supporting the development of new applications in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Despite the great potential for the application of products derived from the jaboticaba fruit, few studies have been published to date on the safety assessment of jabuticaba bark extracts for human health. In this context, my work during my doctorate in biotechnology focused on evaluating the safety of the hydroalcoholic extract dried by ultra pressure from jabuticaba bark, through the use of methodologies in vitro already published by the OECD, as well as identifying the 4 main compounds present in the extract, using techniques such as UHPLC, MALDI-TOF MS and 1H-NMR.

The results of this work can be found here on the website, in this Article.