Phenolic and bioactive profile of Impatiens genus flowers in the search for a promising natural colourant with applicability in the food industry
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resumo
Flowers of the genus Impatiens are widely used for ornamental purposes in landscaping and decorative
projects. Despite being edible matrices, their use in food applications is not yet a common practice1. The
attractive colours of their petals are characteristic of these flowers, which have attracted significant
interest from the food industry due to their colouring properties2. The association of adverse effects with
inappropriate and excessive consumption of some artificial additives tends to affect the choices of
consumers, which frequently demand for healthier and more natural products3. Thus, the scientific
community has been striving to search for vegetable colourant matrices, promoting more attractive
colours, auspicious in terms of yield, stability, cost, and safety4,5.
In this sense, this work aimed to assess the phenolic profile and bioactive properties of the
hydroethanolic extract (80:20, v/v) obtained from the petals of two different species of the genus
Impatiens (Figure 1). Firstly, the flowers were botanically identified as belonging to the species Impatiens
balsamina L. and Impatiens walleriana Hook.f. Then, the individual phenolic profile was determined by
high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector and mass spectrometry
(HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS). The antioxidant potential was analysed through the oxidative haemolysis inhibition
assay (OxHLIA); the antiproliferative capacity was tested in four human tumour cell lines (Hela, cervical
carcinoma; HepG2, hepatocarcinoma; MCF-7, breast adenocarcinoma; and NCI-H460, non-small cell lung
carcinoma) by the sulforhodamine B method; hepatotoxic potential was determined using a freshly
harvested porcine liver cell culture, designated as PLP2; the anti-inflammatory activity using RAW 264.7
macrophage cells; and the antimicrobial activity was determined using the microdilution method in
Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and in fungi.
All studied samples showed significant amounts of phenolic compounds, mainly phenolic acids and
flavonoids. The species I. balsamina presented a greater variety of compounds, presenting nine nonanthocyanin
compounds and twelve anthocyanin derivatives, in comparison with I. walleriana, which
presented a lower variety of compounds, with four non-anthocyanin compounds and four anthocyanins.
Both extracts demonstrated antiproliferative capacity for tumour cell-lines, without toxicity for nontumour
cell lines, and anti-inflammatory capacity. The extracts also revealed remarkable antimicrobial
and antioxidant potential.
These results are in line with what was expected, with emphasis on I. balsamina as the extract with the
most promising bioactive potential, a factor that may be directly related to the diversity of its
compounds. In this way, I. balsamina and I. walleriana meet the expectations of the food market, due
to their colouring capacity added to their functional properties, highlighting their notorious antioxidant
and antimicrobial activities. It is worth mentioning that the addition of these extracts in food
formulations constitute a natural, healthy, and beneficial alternative for consumers.
