Bioscience Journal | 2023 | vol. 39, e39010 | ISSN 1981-3163 1 Frank Bruno Vieira DE SOUSA 1 , Állefe Barbosa CRUZ 1 , Daniela Francisca SOARES 2 , Camila Luiza CUNHA 3 , Juliana C. HOLZBACH 4 1 Graduate Course in Environmental Chemistry, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Gurupi, Tocantins, Brazil. 2 Postgraduate Program in Chemistry, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Gurupi, Tocantins, Brazil. 3 Postgraduate Program in Chemistry, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil. 4 Environmental Chemistry course, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Gurupi, Tocantins, Brazil. Corresponding author: Juliana C. Holzbach juholzbach@uft.edu.br How to cite: DE SOUSA, F.B.V., et al. Chemical constituents and in vivo preliminary evaluation of the toxicological activity of Ouratea spectabilis (OCHNACEAE) and Clitoria guianensis (FABACEAE) leaves. Bioscience Journal. 2023, 39, e39010. https://doi.org/10.14393/BJ- v39n0a2023-62323 Abstract Clitoria guianensis and Ouratea spectabilis, found in the Brazilian Cerrado, are used in folk medicine, despite the few chemical and biological studies reported in the literature. The present study aims to investigate the toxicity and effect of extracts from both species on the microcrustacean Artemia salina, and to determine the chemical composition of the hexane extract of O. spectabilis leaves and the EtOAc fraction of C. guianensis leaves. Kaempferitrin, a flavonoid isolated from of the EtOAc fraction of C. guianensis leaves, was identified by chemical analysis. Analysis of the hexane extract of O. spectabilis leaves using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) suggested the presence of twenty-five known substances. The Hex, EtOAc, and EtOH crude extracts of C. guianensis leaves exhibited high and moderate toxicity against Artemia salina, with median lethal dose values (LD50) of 43.7, 25.4, and 233.4 mg.L −1 , respectively. The acetone extract of O. spectabilis leaves showed moderate toxicity against Artemia salina with an LD50 value of 115.13 mg.L −1 . Keywords: Artemia salina. Cerrado. Kaempferitrin. 1. Introduction The Cerrado is the second-largest biome in Brazil and has the richest biodiversity among the tropical savannahs on the planet. There are 11.627 species of cataloged native vegetation, with new species being discovered each year, corresponding to approximately 5% of all the world's diversity. The sources of the three largest hydrographic basins in South America, i.e., the Amazon Basin, Prata Basin, and São Francisco River Basin, are located in the Cerrado. Due to its natural wealth, the Cerrado is now considered a global biodiversity hotspot that is threatened by agricultural expansion (Estrabis et al. 2019; Colli et al. 2020; Neto et al. 2020). Despite the great diversity present in the Cerrado, the chemical composition of many plant species remains underexplored, highlighting the potential of this biome. These species include Ouratea spectabilis from the Ochnaceae family and Clitoria guianensis, belonging to the Fabaceae family. O. spectabilis is a tree species popularly known as saw leaf. The leaves are traditionally used in the treatment of gastric, stomach, and vermifuge-induced discomfort. Among the classes of metabolites found CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS AND IN VIVO PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THE TOXICOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF Ouratea spectabilis (OCHNACEAE) AND Clitoria guianensis (FABACEAE) LEAVES https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-2351 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6660-5155 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8641-5674 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8641-5674 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2489-9359 Bioscience Journal | 2023 | vol. 39, e39010 | https://doi.org/10.14393/BJ-v39n0a2023-62323 2 Chemical constituents and in vivo preliminary evaluation of the toxicological activity of Ouratea spectabilis and Clitoria guianensis (FABACEAE) leaves in the genus Ouratea, terpenoids, lignoids, monosaccharides, triglycerides, depsides, and biflavonoids, which are abundant in these plants, are considered chemotaxonomic markers of this genus (Fidelis et al. 2014; Rocha et al. 2020). The biflavonoids (6,6-)-bigenkwanin and (7,7″)-dimethoxyagatisflavone isolated from O. spectabilis leaves exhibit inhibitory activity on the production of aflatoxins B1 and B2 in Aspergillus flavus fungi (Gonçalez et al. 2001). These biflavonoids also show inhibitory activity against aldose reductase, an enzyme associated with the onset of cataract formation in patients with diabetes (Simoni et al. 2002). Assays performed with ethanol extracts of O. spectabilis leaves and bark showed antiviral activity against human herpes virus type 1 (HSV-1) and inhibitory activity against the production of TNF-α in monocytic cells activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) THP-1 (Brandão et al. 2011; Campana et al. 2015). Furthermore, the hydroethanolic extract and the ethyl acetate fraction of O. spectabilis showed phytotoxic activity, causing a decrease in the germination rate of lettuce seeds (Mecina et al. 2014). The species C. guianensis grows as a sub-shrub and is commonly known as “vergateza”. The roots are popularly used in the form of a decoction or “garrafada” (combinations of medicinal plants used in alcoholic beverages) as an aphrodisiac and to treat mental disorders (Verde 2003; Souza and Felfili 2006). In a phytochemical study of C. guianensis roots, flavanones, isoflavones, rotenoids, and phenolic glycosides were isolated (Cunha et al. 2020). Ethyl acetate extracts of the leaves and roots of C. guianensis showed antioxidant activity, with a high capacity to inhibit 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and high toxicity against the microcrustacean Artemia salina (Cunha et al. 2020; Soares et al. 2020). The present study aims to investigate the toxicity of extracts and fractions of O. spectabilis and C. guianensis against the microcrustacean Artemia salina. The chemical composition of extracts of both species, as well as that of the hexane extract of leaves of O. spectabilis and the EtOAc fraction of C. guianensis leaves, is analyzed by GC-MS. 2. Material and Methods Plant material Samples of C. guianensis were collected in Gurupi (11°43’S, 49°15’W), Tocantins, Brazil, in November 2013, and identified by Prof. Rodney Haulien Oliveira Viana as Clitoria guianensis (Aubl.) Benth var. guianensis. A voucher sample (10.637) was deposited at the herbarium of Tocantins (HTO), Porto Nacional, TO, Brazil. The materials were separated according to the plant parts and dried (at 45 °C). O. spectabilis leaves were collected from previously identified species within the Gurupi campus of the Federal University of Tocantins (11°43 S, 49°15’W), Tocantins, Brazil, in November 2018. After collection, the leaves (252 g) were separated, washed with distilled water, and dried completely. Extraction and isolation The leaves (194.1 g) of C. guianensis were ground and exhaustively extracted (thrice) with ethanol (3 × 200 mL) at room temperature. The plant material remained immersed in the solvent for 7 d and was manually shaken every 12 h for 2 min. The crude EtOH extract (29.8 g) was solubilized in a mixture of MeOH:H2O (250 mL, 1:1 v/v) and then subjected to liquid-liquid partitioning with Hex and EtOAc. The solvents were removed under reduced pressure to give the EtOAc (13.8 g) and Hex (3.6 g) fractions. The EtOAc fraction (2.0 g) was subjected to column chromatography (CC) (2.3 × 29.0 cm, silica gel eluted with a gradient of CHCl3 → 100% MeOH to give 17 subfractions (ca. 25 mL each; SFr1-SFr17)). The SFr13 subfraction (28.5 mg) was washed with CHCl3 to produce flavonoids. Dried samples of O. spectabilis leaves were extracted by maceration at room temperature in hexane, acetone, and ethanol (2 × ~ 200 mL, 48 h, and shaken manually every 12 h for 2 min for each extraction). The solvents were removed under reduced pressure to give the remaining acetone (1.1 g), hexane (0.6 g), and ethanol (0.57 g) fractions. Bioscience Journal | 2023 | vol. 39, e39010 | https://doi.org/10.14393/BJ-v39n0a2023-62323 3 DE SOUSA, F.B.V., et al. Characterization by GC-MS The composition of the hexane extract was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Portions (0.5 mg) of the dried hexane extract were dissolved in GC-hexane (1 mL), filtered through a PVDF 0.45 μm membrane, and analyzed by GC‑MS (Shimadzu QP2010) coupled to an AOC-20i mass spectrometer (GC-MS) equipped with a Phenomenex ZB-5HT capillary column (30 m x 0.25 µm x 0.25 mm). The injector temperature was maintained at 260 °C, and the oven temperature was ramped from 140 °C to 320°C at a rate of 3 °C.min −1 . The GC-MS was operated in the electronic ionization mode at 70 eV, with the transfer line maintained at 250 °C. Helium (1.0 mL.min −1 ) was used as the carrier gas. The retention indices for all compounds were determined according to the equation proposed by van Den Dool and Kratz (1963), using n-alkanes as standards. The components were identified by comparing their mass spectra and retention times with those in the NIST/EPA/NIH mass spectral database. Structural elucidation of kaempferitrin One-dimensional ( 1 H, 13 C, and TOCSY) and two-dimensional (HSQC and HMBC) NMR experiments were performed on a Bruker Avance™ III 600 spectrometer (14.1 T). The experiments were performed at 600 MHz ( 1 H) and 151 MHz ( 13 C). Deuterated solvents (CDCl3, CD3OD, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO-d6)) (99.98% D) were used as internal standards for calibrating the 13 C NMR chemical shifts, and the residual solvent was used as an internal standard for 1 H NMR. The δ values are reported relative to those of Me4Si. Toxicity testing using Artemia salina The lethality test was performed according to the McLaughlin method (McLaughlin et al. 1998; Meyer et al. 1982). Artemia salina eggs were incubated with saline solution (NaCl = 38 g.L − 1 ) under constant oxygenation for 24 h. After the eggs hatched, 10 units of nauplii were added to test tubes containing crude extracts of the EtOH, Hex, and EtOAc fractions of C. guianensis leaves and acetone extract of O. spectabilis leaves solubilized in saline solution containing 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Each sample was tested in triplicate. The crude EtOH extract of C. guianensis was prepared at concentrations of 100, 75, 35, and 20 mg.L −1 , EtOAc fractions were prepared at concentrations of 75, 50, 35, and 20 mg.L −1 , and the Hex fraction was prepared at concentrations of 500, 200, 50 and 10 mg.L −1 , while the acetone extract of O. spectabilis was prepared at concentrations of 150, 140, 120, 110, and 70 mg.L −1 . For each concentration, triplicate samples of the control solution containing saline solution with 1% DMSO were made and the nauplii were added. The surviving nauplii were counted after 24 h of incubation. The collected data were computerized, and the median lethal dose (LD50) was determined by probit analysis. 3. Results and Discussion The crude EtOH extract of C. guianensis leaves was partitioned with n-hexane and ethyl acetate. Chromatographic fractionation of the EtOAc fraction resulted in isolation of the diglycosylated flavonoid, which was isolated for the first time in the genus Clitoria. GC-MS analysis of the hexane extract of O. spectabilis leaves (Figure 1 and Table 1) suggested the presence of 25 substances out of the 55 detected, with palmitic acid (17.83 %), sitostenone (10.80 %), nonacosane (10.74 %), hentriacontane (8.23 %), tricosane (5.96 %), docosane (5.18 %), and heneicosane (5.05 %) as the main compounds. Among the identified metabolites, fifteen n-alkanes were identified, which are known to confer hydrophobic properties to the epicuticular wax of plants. These waxes are responsible for reducing the dehydration of leaves by evaporation and increasing the efficiency of water use in water-deficient environments (Bush and McInerney 2013). Ketones, carboxylic acids, and esters were also observed. Bioscience Journal | 2023 | vol. 39, e39010 | https://doi.org/10.14393/BJ-v39n0a2023-62323 4 Chemical constituents and in vivo preliminary evaluation of the toxicological activity of Ouratea spectabilis and Clitoria guianensis (FABACEAE) leaves Tocopherol, palmitic acid methyl ester, and tetracosane were previously isolated from O. parviflora and O. nitida, respectively (Estevam et al. 2005; Araujo et al. 2011). This study presents the first report of the chemical profile of the hexane extract of O. spectabilis. Figure 1. Total ion chromatogram (TIC) of hexane extract of O. spectabilis leaves. Table 1. Phytochemical constituents identified in the hexane extract of O. spectabilis leaves using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Peaks Time (min) Area % Identification Proposal IRcal IRlit Similarity % Compound 1 8.750 0.25 1544 1548 85 Dihydroactinidioide 2 14.832 0.88 1757 1769 95 Tetradecanoic acid 3 16.143 0.61 1800 1800 91 Octadecane 4 17.546 2.41 1844 1846 96 Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone 5 17.957 0.35 1857 1857 88 Pentadecanoic acid 6 19.293 1.62 1900 1900 94 Nonadecane 7 20.091 3.41 1925 1926 96 Palmitic acid methyl ester 8 21.272 17.83 1963 1963 95 Palmitic acid 9 22.237 2.71 1994 1994 94 Ethyl palmitate 10 22.433 3.01 2000 2000 94 Eicosane 11 25.505 5.05 2100 2100 94 Heneicosane 12 28.069 1.06 2186 2180 85 Octadecanoic acid 13 28.489 5.18 2200 2200 95 Docosane 14 31.377 5.96 2300 2300 94 Tricosane 15 34.167 4.75 2400 2400 95 Tetracosane 16 36.853 4.27 2500 2500 94 Pentacosane 17 39.444 2.30 2600 2600 95 Hexacosane 18 41.945 2.21 2700 2700 95 Heptacosane 19 44.366 1.39 2800 2800 94 Octacosane 20 46.713 10.74 2900 2900 95 Nonacosane 21 48.963 1.70 3000 3000 95 Triacontane 22 51.163 8.23 3100 3100 94 Hentriacontane 23 51.893 0.88 3135 3138 80 Tocopherol 24 55.349 2.40 3300 3300 94 Tritriacontane 25 58.450 10.80 3458 3458 91 Sitostenone By analyzing the 1 H NMR data and correlations in the HMBC contour map and comparing the experimental data with the spectroscopic data reported in the literature, the flavonoid kaempferol-3,7-O- dirhamnoside or kaempferitrin (Figure 2) was identified (Valente et al. 2009). Kaempferitrin has been shown to have important biological effects, such as antibacterial, antiparasitic, antifungal, immunostimulant, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidepressant, and anti-osteoporosis activities (Hernández et al. 2017). Bioassays with A. salina can be used to screen and discover natural compounds with bioactivity against human carcinomas, because the ED50 values (median effective dose) for cytotoxicity against cancer Time (min) A b u n d a n ce https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=R606852&Units=SI&Mask=2000 https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=C68607885&Units=SI&Mask=2000 https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Tritriacontane https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=C84924969&Units=SI&Mask=2000 Bioscience Journal | 2023 | vol. 39, e39010 | https://doi.org/10.14393/BJ-v39n0a2023-62323 5 DE SOUSA, F.B.V., et al. cells correspond to approximately 1/10 of the LD50 values (mean lethal dose) obtained in bioassays with A. salina (Mclaughlin et al. 1998). The results of toxicity tests using A. salina are shown in Table 2. Figure 2. Chemical structure of kaempferitrin. Table 2. Toxicity of crude EtOH extract and Hex and EtOAc fractions of the leaves of C. guianensis and acetone extract of the leaves of O. spectabilis towards A. salina. Test solution Concentration (mg.L −1 ) Log C Mortality (%) LC50 (mg.L −1 ) Crude ethanol extract of leaves of C. guianensis 20 1.301 3.7 233.42 35 1.544 18.6 75 1.875 30.0 100 2.000 33.3 Ethyl acetate fraction of leaves of C. guianensis 20 1.301 29.7 25.44 35 1.544 75.0 50 1.699 96.3 75 1.875 100.0 Hexane fraction of leaves of C. guianensis 10 1.000 29.2 43.67 50 1.699 41.7 200 2.301 77.8 500 2.699 100.0 Acetone extract of leaves of O. spectabilis 70 1.845 6.2 115.13 110 2.041 45.8 120 2.079 50.0 140 2.146 62.4 150 2.176 81.8 The LD50 values for the crude EtOH extract and the Hex and EtOAc fractions from C. guianensis leaves were 233.4, 43.7, and 25.4 mg.L −1 , respectively. The acetone extract of O. spectabilis leaves had a LD50 value of 115.13 mg.L −1 . The Hex and EtOAc fractions from C. guianensis leaves are considered highly toxic (LD50 <100 mg.L −1 ), whereas the crude EtOH extract from C. guianensis leaves has moderate toxicological activity (100 mg.L −1