Antioxidant potentials and other biological activities of Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.). March: Mini-Review

Oxidative stress occurs when the cell's antioxidant defense system is insufficient. This can be corrected by active antioxidant substances, which help to eliminate the consequences of the damage caused or prevent the system from reaching the stress level. The actions of antioxidants can inhibit or delay tumor cells' appearance, delaying aging, and preventing other cellular damage resulting from the redox imbalance. Therefore, the present work aimed to research studies already published on Protium heptaphyllum (P. heptaphyllum) and its biological activities, mainly antioxidant effects once resulting from phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids, present in the plant. The methodology used was a literature review where information was collected from several studies related to P. heptaphyllum, oxidative stress, polyphenols, and flavonoids in databases, such as Scielo, PubMed, Google Scholar, LILACS, Chemical Abstract, ScienceDirect, among others in the period from 2002 to 2021. The main studies carried out with metabolites of P. heptaphyllum demonstrated several biological activities such as antioxidant, gastroprotective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anxiolytic, antihyperglycemic, hyperlipidemic, among others. Although P. heptaphyllum has been little investigated by pharmacological studies, the results reported in this work may contribute to this plant species' chemical/pharmacological knowledge. Therefore, the secondary metabolites present in the plant may become test targets in future clinical trials for the drug arsenal. It can be observed that P. heptaphyllum is a promising source of secondary compounds, mainly flavonoids.