Study of the Chemical Diversity in Spondias tuberosa Leaves During the Phenological Evolution Stages: Metabolomic and Chemometric Approaches Associated with Antioxidant and Antiglycant Activities

Spondias tuberosa (umbu) has been studied from the perspective of natural product and pharmacology, revealing relevant biological activities. Therefore, from the point of view of chemical and biological studies, deepening knowledge about this species is of great importance. Additionally, the evaluation related to the metabolic variations of the same species during different phenological evolution stages is also an interesting aspect of the research. Thereby, ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-QToF-MSE) was used to trace the chemical profile from umbu leaves at different phenological stages, allowing the detection of 40 metabolites, which 16 were annotated, such as phenolics and anacardic acids. Furthermore, the use of chemoinformatics tools allowed obtaining information on phenological development in the three leaves phases: post-flowering (young leaves), full production and senescence. The antiglycation activity assay revealed a potential inhibition of the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in the leaves at different phenological stages. The antioxidant activity was satisfactory and in agreement with previously reported results, evidencing the potential for using umbu leaves, currently completely discarded, as an alternative source of antioxidants, which may provide increased added value to the cultivation of umbu, stimulating family farming and the recovery of tree density in degraded areas.