# Ultrasound-Assisted Pressurized Fluid Extraction of Antioxidant and Anticancer Molecules from a Mangaba, Cambuí and Red Propolis Blend

## TL;DR

This study shows that a blend of mangaba, cambuí, and red propolis can be extracted to yield antioxidant and anticancer compounds using ultrasound-assisted methods.

## Contribution

The study introduces an optimized ultrasound-assisted pressurized fluid extraction method for obtaining bioactive compounds from a plant and propolis blend.

## Key findings

- Sequential extraction with ethanol/water yielded high phenolic content and moderate antioxidant activity.
- The extract showed 82.3% cytotoxic inhibition against lung carcinoma cells at 100 μg/mL.
- Mass spectrometry identified antiproliferative phenolics in the extract.

## Abstract

This study explored the antioxidant and anticancer potential of extracts obtained from the mangaba, cambuí, and red propolis blend. The extracts were obtained using ultrasound-assisted pressurized fluid extraction (UAPFE) at 50 bar, 60 °C, and a flow rate of 2 mL/min. Both sequential extraction with solvents of increasing polarity (propane followed by ethanol/water) and one-step extraction were employed for 30 min. Extracts were characterized by ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity (via DPPH and FRAP assays), and cytotoxicity using the sulforhodamine B colorimetric method. Among the tested conditions, the sequential extraction with ethanol/water (UAPFE-SE) yielded 16.2 ± 3.0% (overall extraction yield), with high phenolic content (24.1 ± 0.4 µg/mg). Mass spectrometry revealed the presence of antiproliferative phenolics. The UAPFE-SE extract demonstrated moderate antioxidant activity, with FRAP values of 394.0 ± 6.0 µg Fe2+/mg and DPPH scavenging capacity of 28.5 ± 0.3 µg Trolox equivalents/mg. Additionally, it exhibited cytotoxic inhibition of 82.3 ± 1.7% against lung carcinoma cells at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. The results suggest that the antioxidant properties and cytotoxic effect against lung cancer cells in vitro warrant further investigation to assess therapeutic potential.