Phytochemical Constituents, Antioxidant Activity, and Toxicity Assessment of the Seed of Spondias mombin L. (Anacardiaceae)

Objectives: Increased generation of free radicals exceeding the antioxidant capacity of the host is deleterious. Thus new, potent, and safe antioxidants will be a valuable addition to the limited antioxidant arsenals available. Therefore, the antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity potential, and phytochemical constituents of the methanol extract of Spondias mombin seed (MESSM) were investigated.

Materials and methods: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) were the antioxidant assays used. The cytotoxicity of MESSM was evaluated against a rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cell line in a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide based assay. The phytochemical constituents of MESSM were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Results: MESSM produced better antioxidant activity in the DPPH (IC₅₀=58.64±1.49 μg/mL) and H₂O₂ (IC₅₀=44.03±5.57 μg/mL) assays than in the NO (IC₅₀=494.55±12.68 μg/mL, p<0.0001) assay. Moreover, MESSM was nontoxic (CC50=139.6±0.54 μg/mL) in comparison to cyclophosphamide (CC50=0.97±0.03 μg/mL) against the RD cell line. The major compounds in MESSM were dodecanoic acid (22.48%), tetradecanoic acid (17.95%), n-hexadecanoic acid (15.35%), capsaicin (12.11%), and dihydrocapsaicin (5.23%).

Conclusion: The seed extract of Spondias mombin contains nontoxic antioxidant compounds that could be explored in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries for the development of antioxidant agents.

Keywords: GC-MS; Seed of Spondias mombin; antioxidants; cytotoxicity.