Chemical Constituents and Antioxidant Activity of Leaves and Stems Extracts of Monteverdia communis (Celastraceae)

Species from the genus Monteverdia (Celastraceae) are widely used in traditional medicine for gastric disorders. Pharmacological and phytochemical studies focus on Monteverdia ilicifolia (“espinheira-santa”). Monteverdia communis is endemic and abundant in southeast Brazil, and no previous work was reported in literature involving its chemical aspects. Given the potential of Monteverdia species as sources of natural antioxidants, this work aimed to undertake a chemical study and evaluate the antioxidant activity of leaves and stems extracts of M. communis. A fraction enriched with the triterpenes epifriedelinol and 3-oxo-friedelin was isolated from the hexane extract of the leaves. The antioxidant activity of ethanol extracts of leaves and stems was significantly higher than butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and statistically equivalent to rutin (positive controls). A weak negative correlation with the total flavonoid content was verified for these extracts, suggesting that the antioxidant activity may be related to the presence of other compounds in addition to flavones and flavonols. The phytochemical screening of hexane and ethanol extracts from leaves and stems revealed their chemical profile, providing quality control data. The results allow the indication of M. communis as a source of bioactive terpenoids and a promising target for further studies to isolate and identify antioxidant compounds.