Biological activity of Annona muricata and A. cherimola seed oils

Abstract

Vegetable extracts have become important raw materials for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries because of their biological potential. The objective of this study was to assess the biological activity of vegetable oils (VOs) extracted from Annona muricata and A. cherimola. Antibacterial activity was determined by plaque microdilution. The assessment of hemolytic inhibition and morphological alterations was performed in erythrocyte cultures by spectrophotometry and microscopy, respectively. Neutrophils were used to analyze both cytotoxicity by the trypan blue exclusion method and the effect on gelatinase granule release (MMP9) via zymography. Whereas VOs showed a mild antibacterial activity (900 μL/mL) on five ATCC bacterial strains, they had no effect on multi-resistant bacteria. In addition, VOs inhibited hydrogen peroxide induced hemolysis and did not cause erythrocyte cell abnormalities. Cytotoxicity was not detected in neutrophils and VOs were able to stimulate MMP9 release. These results support their potential use by the food and cosmetic industries due to their antioxidant, non-cytotoxic, and slight antibacterial capacities.