Health Benefits of the Alkaloids from Lobeira (Solanum lycocarpum St. Hill): A Comprehensive Review.

Solanum is the largest genus within the Solanaceae family and has garnered considerable attention in chemical and biological investigations over the past 30 years. In this context, lobeira or "fruta-do-lobo" (Solanum lycocarpum St. Hill), a species predominantly found in the Brazilian Cerrado, stands out. Beyond the interesting nutritional composition of the fruits, various parts of the lobeira plant have been used in folk medicine as hypoglycemic, sedative, diuretic, antiepileptic, and antispasmodic agents. These health-beneficial effects have been correlated with various bioactive compounds found in the plant, particularly alkaloids. In this review, we summarize the alkaloid composition of the lobeira plant and its biological activities that have been reported in the scientific literature in the last decades. The compiled data showed that lobeira plants and fruits contain a wide range of alkaloids, with steroidal glycoalkaloid solamargine and solasonine being the major ones. These alkaloids, but not limited to them, contribute to different biological activities verified in alkaloid-rich extracts/fractions from the lobeira, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antigenotoxic, antidiabetic, antinociceptive, and antiparasitic effects. Despite the encouraging results, additional research, especially toxicological, pre-clinical, and clinical trials, is essential to validate these human health benefits and ensure consumers' safety and well-being.

Evaluation of fruta-do-lobo (Solanum lycocarpum St. Hill) starch on the growth of probiotic strains.

Fruta-do-lobo (Solanum lycocarpum St. Hill) is a native fruit commonly used in Brazilian folk medicine as a hypoglycemic agent. These properties are attributed to their starch, mainly its resistant fraction. Resistant starch has shown to increases the growth of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the gut, even though not being selective for these strains. In this scenario, this study aimed to investigate the potential prebiotic activity of fruta-do-lobo starch (FLS). FLS showed around 30% of resistant starch and their prebiotic potential was evaluated with five probiotic strains L. acidophilus (LA3 and LA5), L. casei (LC01) and B. animalis (BB12) and B. lactis (BLC1) in a concentration range of 1.0-2.0% of starch. In a preliminary screening, we evaluated, during 48 h, the viability of the starch with promoting growth agent. An increase in the growth of the probiotic strains tested was observed. We also evaluated the microorganism's metabolic activity by assessing the short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, using the best starch growth promotion conditions (2% of FLS and strains BLC1, LA5, and LC01). As expected, MRS and lactose were preferentially metabolized by BLC1, with the highest growth rates: 0.231 and 0.224 h-1, respectively. However, for this strain, the FLS growth rate (0.222 h-1) was 65% higher than FOS (0.144 h-1). Also, for LA5 FLS promoted higher growth (0.150 h-1) than FOS (0.135 h-1). Additionally, FLS promoted acetate production. These data are promising and indicate that FLS may have prebiotic potential and more studies need to be done with pathogenic microorganisms.

A comprehensive characterization of Solanum lycocarpum St. Hill and Solanum oocarpum Sendtn: Chemical composition and antioxidant properties.

In this study we evaluated the proximate composition of two Solanaceae fruits from Brazilian Cerrado, their mineral content, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), phenolic compounds profile, and antioxidant capacity employing Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assay, for each part of the fruits (pulp, peel and seeds). Our results showed that the pulp has a high moisture content (74.62-85.40 g/100 g) and soluble fiber (1.29-2.06 g/100 g) content, and low fat, protein, and ash content. The peel exhibited high levels of carbohydrates and total fibers (6.55-11.39 and 12.35-13.12 g/100 g, respectively), while the seed presented high content of fat, protein, and insoluble fiber (10.14-12.62, 9.14-13.24 and 19.84-23.15 g/100 g). Potassium is the main mineral found in both fruits. It is the first time that the carbohydrate profile, volatile components, and phenolic compounds of the fruta-do-lobo and juá-açu are reported. 1-Kestose (GF2) and nystose (GF3) were found in both fruits. The main VOCs of juá-açu were esters, while in fruta-do-lobo, aldehydes were the major components. UPLC-Q-ToF fraction analysis of juá-açu and fruta-do-lobo revealed 24 phenolic compounds, most being hydroxycinnamic acids derivatives in juá-açu, and chlorogenic acids in fruta-do-lobo. The antioxidant capacity (ORAC) of the fruits ranged from 1.35 to 11.51 µmol TE/100 mL of extract. These results indicate that Solanum genus can be interesting for the Brazilian fruit market, and that it has potential to be exploited for agroindustry for diversification of fruit products.