Bioprospecting of the Amazonian mapati fruit (Pourouma cecropiifolia Martius): Antiproliferative and antimalarial potential of peel and seed hydroethanolic extracts.

Mapati (Pourouma cecropiifolia Martius) is a tropical fruit endemic to the Amazon rainforest and a source of phenolic compounds, the antimalarial and antiproliferative properties of which remain untapped. Herein, we provide insights into the composition and biological potential of mapati extracts. Hydroethanolic extracts of mapati peel and seed were subjected to UPLC-QToF/MS and HPLC-DAD, which revealed a rich polyphenols profile, including chlorogenic acid and its isomers, quercetin, and glycosylated derivatives. These extracts, particularly the seed extract, exhibit high antioxidant capacities, as demonstrated by the DPPH, FRAP, and HRSA assays. Biological tests revealed that the observed antioxidant potential was correlated with fewer reactive oxygen species (ROS) in A549 cells and human erythrocytes. Moreover, both extracts are cytotoxic toward cancer cell lines at 50.6 μg GAE/mL (seed extract) and 104 μg GAE/mL (peel extract). Furthermore, lower concentrations (12.5 μg GAE/mL and 20 μg GAE/mL, respectively) exhibited antigenotoxic and antimutagenic activities, as demonstrated by DNA fragmentation and chromosomal abnormality assays. Both extracts also showed antiplasmodial activities against all intraerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum (3D7 and W2). Notably, the seed extract enhanced the efficacy of artesunate against the 3D7 strain by reducing its IC₅₀ by approximately 85 % at 10 μg GAE/mL, whereas the peel extract potentiated its activity against the W2 strain, with a reduction of 38 % at 5 and 10 μg GAE/mL. These findings reveal that mapati seed and peel extracts are promising sources of bioactive compounds with antioxidant, genoprotective, and antimalarial properties, thereby highlighting the potential of Amazonian fruit.