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Chemical analysis of passiflora edulis fo. Flavicarpa leaves and its nutraceutical applications

Abstract:

Passiflora edulis fo. Flavicarpa is an important product of the agricultural sector in Ecuador, with its juice and concentrates used as export items. The agricultural operation results in substantial debris from the leaves, as the plants have a productive life of 24 months. After harvest, the discarded plants, including the leaves, are buried in the ground and currently have no commercial value. The aim of this work is to find a potential application for the discarded leaves. The analysis of aqueous leaf extracts revealed the presence of 24 compounds identified as saturated fatty acids, volatile oils, sugar, carboxylic acids and aldehydes. These components, which include phytochemicals and flavonoids, exhibit interesting activities, such as antioxidant, anticonvulsant, antifungal, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive properties. In the consulted literature, none of the compounds found have been previously reported in the leaves of yellow passion fruit.