Agave americana, commonly known as maguey, is a plant that has been used as a natural treatment for diabetes type II. Different species of agave have revealed the presence of saponins, flavonoids, and polyphenols, which are the potential compounds responsible for its therapeutic effects. Furthermore, components such as saponins can be hydrolyzed into compounds like sugars, phenols, and steroidal aglycones in acidic conditions, such as in the gastric juices. Most investigations have analyzed the components of the leaves of the plant; however, in Puerto Rico, people have claimed to experience therapeutic effects from consuming the brew of the roots. Preliminary studies of derivatized extracts from maguey roots have revealed anticancer properties, the presence of iron, polyphenolic compounds, and PARABEN (an antifungal compound). Hence, the objective of this investigation is to analyze the changes in the organic components extracted in a lyophilized fraction (equivalent to a dietary supplement dose) of the maguey roots brew once they are submitted to an in vitro digestion process. The in vitro digestion process simulates the steps of digestion upon the passage of the lyophilized extracts through the mouth and stomach. The aqueous solutions obtained after each digestion step were extracted with ethyl acetate and dichloromethane and the dried extracts collected after each step were analyzed by chromatographic techniques, such as TLC and GC. In addition to the chromatographic analyses, a comparative study of the iron percentage and phenolic contents contained in the extracts after the in vitro digestion steps with the one reported in previous investigations will be presented. These results will be used to propose the use of the lyophilized extract from maguey roots as a dietary supplement.

Can the lyophilized extract from maguey roots brew be used as a dietary supplement?

256th National Meeting (2018)

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