Identification of the chemical constituents of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açaí) using hyphenation NMR techniques

Abstract

The açaí palm (Euterpe oleraceaMart.) is a plant species of the Arecaceae family,whose fruits are an important economic and nutritional source to diverse populations, especially in the northern region of Brazil. The pulp of the fruit has been the subject of studies due to recent discoveries related to its high antioxidant capacity and some medicinal properties. However, the constituents responsible for such effects have not been fully identified yet. Thus, the first objective of this project is to have an overview of the chemical constituents present in the processed açaí pulpso that it can be possible to evaluate the influence of seasonality, regionality, different types of cultivation and the use of different cultivars. Forthat purpose, the UV chromatogram profile of the methanol pulp extract (fingerprint) combined with chemometric tools (PCA, HCA, SIMCA and PLS-DA) will be used. The fruits to be used in the study will come from plants grown under controlled conditions, which will be collected in experimental plantations of "Embrapa Amazônia Oriental", in addition to samples collected in the local market. The second objective is applying the coupled technology, LC-UV-SPE/NMR and LC-UV-LS/NMR,in its various forms, in order to elucidate the structure of minor secondary metabolites present in the fruit pulp. This analytical toolrepresents an important ally in the elucidation of unknown structures, mainly minor metabolites, once the analytes can be concentrated prior to NMR analysis and, since it is a non-destructive technique, it makes possible to analyze the samplesby mass spectrometry (MS). (AU)