TITLE:
Seasonal Flavonoid Profile and Kaempferitrin Content in the Leaf Extracts of Bauhinia forficata Subspecies forficata from Two Locations in Southeastern Brazil
AUTHORS:
João B. F. Tostes, Antonio C. Siani, Sérgio S. Monteiro, Vinicius F. Melo, Jéssica O. Costa, Ligia M. M. Valente
KEYWORDS:
Bauhinia forficata, Kaempferitrin, Flavonoids, HPLC-DAD
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.10 No.1,
January
22,
2019
ABSTRACT: The leaves of Bauhinia forficata L. (Fabaceae) are used in Brazilian folk medicine mainly as antidiabetic
agent. They are rich in polyphenols, and kaempferitrin and other flavonoids are
currently considered as basic chemical criteria for the quality and the effectiveness of extracts
and phytopharmaceuticals derived from them. Aiming to expand the scope of current
data of the chemical profile of B. forficata subsp. forficata, the present study employed HPLC-DAD and
HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS to compare the flavonoid profile and kaempferitrin content in
the leaves of specimens collected seasonally during one year, in two different
locations in Southeastern Brazil: Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and São Paulo (SP)
states. The data showed a variation in the flavonoid profile and in the
kaempferitrin content depending on the place of collection and the season of
the year. The target compound, kaempferitrin, was found to be only a minor
constituent in RJ (0.21 - 1.02 μg/mg), and was mostly absent or occurred as
trace in SP location (0.00 - 0.12 μg/mg). Some degree of similarity was
observed in the flavonoid profiles according to the region of collection. In
agreement with some published reports, the low and quite variable kaempferitrin
content as well the wide variability of the flavonoid profiles brings into
question the dubious matter of using these compounds as chemical markers for
this medicinal species.