Bioactive extract of Artemisia judaica causes in vitro inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase IV and pancreatic/intestinal enzymes of the carbohydrate absorption cascade: implication for anti-diabetic new molecular entities (NMEs)

Abstract

Artemisia judaica is used in traditional medicine in the Arabian Gulf to treat several ailments including diabetes. The present study evaluated the hydro-methanolic extract obtained from aerial parts of A. judaica (AJ-HA) for its potential to inhibit key blood sugar modulating enzymes in vitro and its antioxidant activity with phytochemical composition. AJ-HA was tested for in vitro hypoglycemic effect by its potential to inhibit pancreatic α-amylase, intestinal α-glucosidase and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV). Antioxidant activity was determined by assessing the potential of the extract through scavenging of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. Quantitative phytochemical evaluation was performed by determining the total content of phenolics, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids. Interestingly the extract showed inhibitory potential for all the three key enzymes that are involved in modulating the blood glucose levels namely: α-amylase, α-glucosidase and DPP IV with IC50s in the range of 758.96–2447.40 µg/mL. AJ-HA also showed significant scavenging activity for DPPH radicals with IC50 of 85.89 µg/mL. Quantitative estimations confirmed the abundance of various phytochemical classes particularly saponins and tannins. As such, this is a proof of concept study wherein our results demonstrate that A. judaica which is used in traditional medicine for anti-diabetic properties contains active metabolites that have the potential to inhibit key blood sugar modulating enzymes. Our findings therefore has implication that warrants further investigation of A. judaica in animal models and further for the identification of lead compounds as new molecular entities for management of diabetes.