TOTAL PHENOL AND TOTAL FLAVONOID CONTENT, ANTIOXIDANT AND ALLELOPATHIC ACTIVITIES OF EXTRACTS OF THE UNRIPE FRUITS OF Solanum lycocarpum

The species Solanum lycocarpum is popularly known as "fruit of the wolf", and is widely used in traditional medicine. In the present study, the hexane and methanol extracts obtained from the unripe fruits of S. lycocarpum, using a Soxhlet extractor, were evaluated for allelopathic and antioxidant activities. In addition, the content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids was determined. The extracts showed antioxidant activity at the seven concentrations tested. The EC50 values obtained for the extracts could be correlated directly with the content of the phenolic compounds and flavonoids present in the samples. For the allelopathic activity, the samples showed heterogeneous effects on the growth of the hypocotyl and radicle of onion seeds, as well as inhibitory effects against lettuce seeds. These results encourage further studies of this species in order to isolate and identify the compounds responsible for these activities that, in the future, could be used as antioxidants or allelochemicals of a natural origin.