The Brazilian guarana has been used since pre-colombian times as a tonic aphrodisiac or stimulating beverage. However, the current literature about the antioxidant properties of guarana is restricted to a few studies and still remains poorly understood. In this study we showed the full guarana commercial extract redox properties against several radicals and reactive species since the overload of these molecules are involved in the pathogenesis of several diseases. All tested concentrations (1, 10, 100 and 1000 μg/mL) guarana extract presented high efficiency in quenching peroxyl radical (~1 μg/mL), malondialdehyde (60 μg/mL), hydroxyl radical (63 μg/mL) and nitric oxide radical (84.1 μg/mL) and chelating iron (46 μg/mL) at low IC50. Since the reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and free radicals have pivotal roles in the initiation and/or progression in several diseases, such as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases it is sovereign importance to know about the chemical profile and redox-active properties regarding medicinal plants candidate to being alternative forms in prevention or treatment of diseases. Thinking about this, our team provided the first milestone regarding the full redox profile of amazon Paullinia cupana (guarana) extracts.
Keywords: Free Radicals; Oxidative Stress; Natural Compounds; Polyphenols;