Antioxidative Properties of Ethanolic Extracts Differing by Sex and Coloration of Pterophylla beltrani1

Abstract

Phenolic compounds are a natural product of plants, many of which are foraged by insects and used for different purposes, e.g., defense against foraging, chitin hardness, antioxidants, pigment production, and antimicrobial synthesis. We extracted metabolite ethanol from P. beltrani, quantifying the total phenol content and determining its antioxidative ability by DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays. UPLC was used for phytochemical analysis to quantify and characterize major secondary metabolites extracted. The study shows the TPC content varied according to sex (F 1,48 = 4.37, P < 0.05), being significantly more in ethanolic extracts from females. Female-based ethanolic extracts also had greater radical scavenging ability (F 2,48 = 3.24, P < 0.05) than those from males (F 1,48 = 9.45, P < 0.05). The phytochemical profile of the compounds was consistent despite the diet or color of the insect.