Psidium cattleianum Sabine and P. myrtoides O. Berg fruits: a comparative composition, antioxidant, and safety use.

• Psidium fruits showed antioxidant activities, with a protective effect on DNA. • It may be related to phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins and anthocyanins. • Its fruits had no cytotoxicity, except for the P. myrtoides highest concentrations. • Aqueous extracts of Psidium fruits showed no genotoxic effects. • Psidium fruits are potential sources for functional foods, with benefits for health. Psidium cattleianum Sabine and P. myrtoides O. Berg (Myrtaceae) fruits, known as yellow and purple araçá, respectively, are widely consumed fresh and are used in several applications, such as juices, syrups, and ice cream products. Moreover, their extracts and essential oils have been recognized for their biological properties. Here, we evaluated the potential of P. cattleianum and P. myrtoides fruits through antioxidant, cytogenotoxic, and antigenotoxic tests using their aqueous fruit extracts (1.56 to 50.0 mg/mL). Phenolic compounds and flavonoids were present in both Psidium fruit extracts, while tannins and anthocyanins were found only in P. myrtoides. The latter species exhibited higher antioxidant activity when compared to P. cattleianum according to the DPPH and ABTS tests. Psidium cattleianum extracts showed no cytotoxicity (MTT assay), while P. myrtoides was considered cytotoxic only at the highest concentrations (25 and 50 mg/mL). No genotoxic effects were observed for both extracts (3.12, 6.25, and 12.5 mg/mL) using micronucleus test with the fibroblast cell line L929. Additionally, P. cattleianum and P. myrtoides extracts (12.5 mg/mL) reduced nuclear changes induced by MMS in the antigenotoxic assay. Overall, our findings suggest that the analyzed Psidium fruits, particularly the P. myrtoides species, are sources of natural antioxidants, with no genotoxicity (≤ 12.5 mg/mL) and exhibit a protective effect against DNA damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]