Antioxidant activity and solar protection factor of two Vismia species colleted from Venezuelan Andean

Abstract

Long lasting exposure to UVA and UVB radiation might lead to premature aging and the appearance of skin cancer. The use of photoprotectors that contain oxygenated aromatic chemical compounds obtained from natural sources has been established. Species of Vismia genus (Hypericaceae), distributed mainly in the tropical zone of Central and South America, has been used in traditional medicine to alleviate several ailments. Present investigation aims to evaluate the free radical scavenging capacity, total phenolic, flavonoids content, solar protect factor and the qualitative phytochemical screening of methanol extracts obtained from Vismia baccifera (VB) and Vismia macrophylla (VM). Free radical scavenging activity, total phenolic and total flavonoid content assays were performed in order to determine antioxidant activity on the extracts under investigation. Methanol extracts of VB and VM showed by means of phytochemical screening the presence of polyoxygenated compounds like anthraquinones, xanthones, anthrones and flavonoids. The antioxidant activity study carried out with DPPH and total phenol content assays showed similar values for both species, IC50 5.90 µg mL-1 (VB) and 5.65 µg mL-1 (VM); 375.32 and 381.23 mg Eq ÁG/g Ext, respectively. However, VB showed a higher amount of flavonoids with 267.07 mg Eq Q/g Ext. On the other hand, the In Vitro study to determine the solar protection factor displayed values of 25.3 for VB and 20.7 for VM, being these considered as medium protection capacity according to FDA and COLIPA data. Results obtained are considered as contribution to Vismia genus activity investigation.