Identificación de la capacidad biológica del extracto etanólico de hojas de menta (Mentha arvensis)

Abstract

The use of natural substances derived from medicinal plants has been a widespread practice throughout history, offering valuable therapeutic alternatives. In Ecuador, a megadiverse country with a rich flora, there is a growing interest in exploring these plants as sources of bioactive compounds for medical and pharmaceutical applications. This work focuses on the evaluation of the biological properties of the ethanolic extract of mint leaves (Mentha arvensis) in Ecuador, in order to study its potential as a source of natural bioactive compounds and explore its therapeutic application. The ethanolic extract of mint leaves was obtained by the Soxhlet method whose yield was 14.55 percent. The determination of total phenols was performed by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and the evaluation of its antioxidant activity by the DPPH and ABTS assays. In addition, its anti-inflammatory capacity was evaluated by protein denaturation assays (egg albumin and bovine albumin). The results obtained showed that the extract of M. arvensis has a high content of total phenols of 57.59 mg GAE per gran of extract, and also exhibits a significant antioxidant activity of 86.36 and 82.78 percent for the DPPH and ABTS assays respectively, being a potential as a source of natural antioxidant agents. Likewise, a remarkable anti-inflammatory activity of 67.54 and 71.31 percent was observed for the egg albumin and bovine albumin denaturation assays respectively, indicating to be effective in the treatment of inflammatory conditions.