Obtaining a dry extract of pterodon emarginatus (Fabaceae) fruits by spray-drying

Abstract

The Pterodon emarginatus presents some pharmacological properties that may be related to the presence of vouacapanes. The purpose of this work is to reach a standardized dry extract of the P. emarginatus fruit. The powder, ethanolic extract and dry extract showed the presence of vouacapanes and lupeol confirmed by IR and GC-MS. The drying process (spray drying) using the colloidal silicon dioxide showed to prevent the thermal degradation and increased approximately twice the terpenes content. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed irregular and spherical particles. The analytical method by spectrophotometry for the quantification of total terpenes was validated and showed to be selective, linear, precise, accurate and robust. In the antinociceptive activity test (capsaicin), the pre-treatment with the dried extract reduced the reactivity time in 50.9%. The results may suggest that the technological processes employed to transform the P. emarginatus fruits in standardized dried extract were adequate to maintain quality chemistry and antinociceptive activity described for the fruits. This work represents the first description of the obtaining of the standardized dried extract of P. emarginatus and also the identification of lupeol in the fruits of this medicinal plant.