Assessment of In Vitro Antidiabetic Potential of Purified Anthocyanin Extract from Floral Petals of Wild Balsam Species

Abstract


 
 Diabetes is a notorious and growing clinical and public health issue. The International Diabetes Federation assumes that 592 million had diabetes by 2035 and that by 2040 the number will increase to 642 million. Cardiovascular corollary accounts for four million deaths annually attributable to diabetes. Evidence reveals that certain glucose-lowering phytochemicals can improve vascular outcomes with type 2 diabetes, which, together with better understanding of using multiple therapies concurrently, offers opportunities for beneficial personalization of medication regimens. Anthocyanins are coloured pigments and are natural antioxidants. Keeping this in focus, this study was undertaken to evaluate the in vitro antidiabetic activity in the petals of wild Impatiens balsamina L. The anthocyanin was extracted from floral petals of wild balsam species and purified to homogeneity using chromatographic techniques. Evaluation of in vitro antidiabetic properties of anthocyanin extract revealed a dose-dependent increase in the inhibitory effect on the alpha-glucosidase (200 μg/ml) and alpha-amylase enzymes (500 μg/ml) and was comparable with the standard acarbose drug (189 μg/ml and 50 μg/ml). These results indicated that anthocyanin could be used as a source of functional food and nutraceuticals. This information from wild species will be useful in finding more potent antidiabetic principle from the natural resources for the clinical development of antidiabetic therapeutics. Future studies are planned to substantiate the antidiabetic power of anthocyanin using in vivo animal models.
 Keywords: Alpha amylase, alpha glucosidase, diabetes, herbal remedies, Impatiens balsamina L.