Phytochemical profile, antioxidant properties, and anticancer activity of Mauritia flexuosa L. from the Ecuadorian Amazon

Phytochemical profile, antioxidant properties, and anticancer activity of Mauritia flexuosa L. from the Ecuadorian Amazon | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Phytochemical profile, antioxidant properties, and anticancer activity of Mauritia flexuosa L. from the Ecuadorian Amazon Carlos Méndez-Durazno, Noroska G. S. Mogollón, Thomas Garzón, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8116295/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A comprehensive study was performed to elucidate the metabolite composition, antioxidant activity, and anti-breast cancer potential of peel, pulp, and seed extracts from Mauritia flexuosa L., a palm native to the Ecuadorian Amazon. Antioxidant capacity was determined using DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays, supported by electrochemical analyses. Metabolite profiling by UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS revealed diverse phenolic constituents. The antiproliferative effects of the extracts against the T-47D breast cancer cell line were evaluated by MTT assay, with apoptosis induction confirmed by western blotting. Among the tested extracts, the peel demonstrated the strongest cytotoxic activity. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the predominant phenolic compounds may inhibit CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 enzymes, providing mechanistic insight into the observed antiproliferative effects. Collectively, these findings highlight M. flexuosa as a promising natural source of bioactive compounds with potential applications in the development of novel agents against breast cancer. Mauritia flexuosa L. Phytochemical profile antioxidant activity T-47D western blot analysis CYP1A1 CYP1B1 Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Suplementary.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 02 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 24 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 09 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 07 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 30 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 08 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 08 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8116295","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":589704319,"identity":"94af2811-290e-47d3-b5c0-6c75244e428d","order_by":0,"name":"Carlos Méndez-Durazno","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Carlos","middleName":"","lastName":"Méndez-Durazno","suffix":""},{"id":589704320,"identity":"b64ed4b5-03ae-4ac5-b4ac-42f148be0b1f","order_by":1,"name":"Noroska G. S. 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