Antioxidant and Biological Activity

One of the possible major causes of aging and some degenerative diseases are free radicals and other oxidants. However antioxidants are capable of stabilizing or deactivating these free radicals before they attack biological targets in cells. Vitamin E is the most active antioxidant. Another common problem in northern Brazil is diseases transmitted by insect bites such as Aedes aegypti which causes dengue fever. Therefore the objective of this study was to verify through bioassays both the antioxidant capacity and larvicidal activity of crude extracts of Iryanthera juruensis (Warb) (Myristicaceae) obtained in organic solvents of increasing polarity. The method used for antioxidant activity was the DPPH observed by the decrease in the optical density reading of the analyzed extracts related to the control to establish the percentage of discoloration of the DPPH radical and for the CL50 larvicidal activity it was determined by the percentage of mortality related to a negative and a positive control observed after an incubation period.