Spray-dried extract from the Amazonian adaptogenic plant Ampelozizyphus amazonicus Ducke (Saracura-mirá): Chemical composition and immunomodulatory properties

Ampelozizyphus amazonicus Ducke is a medicinal plant used in the Amazon region to prepare a drink with tonic, immunomodulatory and adaptogenic properties. Due to the growing interest in dietary supplements with these properties and, to provide a new functional ingredient, barks from A. amazonicus were extracted. The extract was spray dried without drying adjuvants, resulting in a powder (SARF), which was characterized by its physico-chemical properties and proximate, mineral and saponin contents. The SARF saponins were characterized by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/high resolution accurate mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMSn) analysis. The SARF particles tended to have a spherical shape and a unimodal size distribution. The particles also had good rehydration characteristics and high saponin content (33%). The effect of SARF on antibody production was investigated, and we found that SARF increased the basal levels of anti-ovalbumin, anti-LPS and anti-dextran IgM antibodies, and the anti-dextran IgG antibodies in unimmunized mice. No increase in antibody titers was observed after SARF treatment in immunized mice. These results suggest that SARF could be an interesting new functional ingredient for food applications or pharmaceutical products.