CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE BALSAM: Sedum dendroideum Moc et Sessé ex DC,
Crassulaceae
Jéssica S. de Almeida, Pedro H. F. Tomé, Edson J. Fragiorge, Gustavo A. Pereira. School of Food
Technology, Federal Institute of Triângulo Mineiro – IFTM, Rodovia Municipal Joaquim Ferreira,
Fazenda Sobradinho. s/n. Zona Rural. Cx. Postal 592 - CEP 38.400-974; Uberlândia, Minas Gerais,
Brazil.
Several plant species present medicinal properties. With these characteristics stands out Sedum
dendroideum, known in Brazil as balsam. The aim of this study was to determine total phenols, βcarotene, lycopene, chlorophyll A and B, the antioxidant activity and the activity of peroxidase and
polyphenoloxidase in leaves and stems of balsam collected in 18 º 55 ' 08 '' S 48 º 16 ' 37 '' W. The
content of phenolic compounds was determined by the method of Folin-Denis, the levels of βcarotene, lycopene, chlorophyll A and B were dosed according to the method of Yamashita and
Nagata (1992), to antioxidant activity, the method of radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH˙) and
for the enzymatic method described by Fujita et al. (1995) and Clement (1998). Significant differences
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by the Bonferroni test (P<0.05), for the values of total phenols, in values of 107.3333 mg.100g and
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167.8933 mg.100g for leaf and stem, respectively. The β-carotene in the leaves was measured at
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266.5 µg.100g , while the stem showed 176.2 µg.100g of lycopene. The leaf and stem showed
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900.8 µg.100g and 885.3 µg.100g of Chlorophyll A and B, in that order. For antioxidant activity,
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expressed in EC50, values were found of 147.9565 µg.100mL to the leaves and 72.5600 µg.100mL
to the stem. Regarding the enzymatic activity, the results for the leaf and stem were 19.5100 un.min
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.mL and 22.6900 un.min .mL for the peroxidase, and 10.11 un.min .mL and 9.69 un.min .mL
for the polifenoloxidase, respectively. Generally, the leaves and stems of balsam showed significant
levels of phenolics and high antioxidant capacity.