The Senna genus has a wide diversity of species, with an interesting chemical composition of secondary metabolites and applications as medicine. The folk medicine, mainly in developing countries, uses species of Senna to treat seizures, epilepsy and constipation. Though the recognized bioactivity, some Brazilian native species of Senna remain unexplored, such as Senna cearensis, a native species of Caatinga. This is the first report about the bioactivity of the flowers of S. cearensis Afr. Fern., a native species of northeast Brazil. In this communication, flavonoids and catechins are identified in S. cearensis flowers and the chemical composition is linked with its antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and cytotoxic activities. By UPLC-QTOF, some compounds that belong to the class of flavonoids were identified. They are: catechin, epigallocatechin, guibourtinidol-(4α-8)-catechin, and cassiaflavan-(Cat)-epicatechin. The cytotoxic activity is more noticeable for the HL60 (leukemia) cell line with a cell growth inhibition (GI%) of 81.65 ± 5.65.
Keywords: Caatinga; Senna; antioxidant; bioactivity; catechins; cytotoxicity.