SFE OF PHARMACOLOGICAL COMPOUNDS FROM Tabernaemontana catharinensis: ANALYSIS OF THE ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES

In the present work the pharmacological activities of SFE extracts from T. catharinensis were evaluated. The SFE extracts were obtained using supercritical CO2 plus ethanol as cosolvent (4.6 and 9.2% m/m) at pressures of 250 and 300 bar and temperatures of 35, 45, and 55oC. The crude extracts were solvent-fractionated (hexanic fraction, alkaloid, and aqueous fractions) and analyzed by Thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and Gaschromatography/Flame Ionization Detector (GC/ FID). The antioxidant and antimycobacterial activities were determined for the crude extracts and their fractions. The antioxidant activity was measured by the coupled reaction of limonene acid and β-carotene; the antimycobacterial activity against M. tuberculosis was measured by Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA) technique. The results show that the minimum antioxidant activity was approximately 55% (after 3 h of reaction) while the maximum was 92% (at the first hour of reaction). The highest antimycobacterial activity was detected in the alkaloidal fraction (MIC = 128 μg/mL) while the aqueous fraction had the lowest antimycobacterial activity (MIC > 512 μg/mL).