Antioxidant and Biological Activity of Mexican Madroño Fruit (Arbutus arizonica)

The fruit of the Mexican madroño (<i>Arbutus arizonica</i>) has been consumed since pre-Columbian times by North American tribes and native groups in Mexico. Despite this, reports on its chemical composition and biological activity are limited. This work aims to determine the antioxidant, antiproliferative, and digestive enzyme inhibition activities of the methanol amberlite-retained extract of Mexican madroño. Results showed that madroño fruit is rich in antioxidants: DPPH (EC₅₀ = 0.89 ± 0.03 mg/mL), TEAC (1078 ± 4.9 μM/g), and hemolysis inhibition (IC₅₀ = 358.07 μg/mL), with high phenolic and flavonoid content at 15.92 ± 3.2 mg GAE/g and 4.33 ± 0.3 mg CA/g, respectively. Using analytical chromatography, gallic acid, vanillic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, and rutin were quantified. The extract also showed α-glucosidase inhibition (IC₅₀ = 3.1 ± 0.17 mg/mL), but no inhibition against α-amylase and lipase (>5 mg/mL), while showing antiproliferative activity against HeLa, HT-29, and MCF-7 cancer cell lines. These results point towards an interesting potential for the fruit of the <i>A. arizonica</i> as chemopreventive and hold potential for elaborating functional foods.