Abstract
This study sought to compare the antioxidant properties [1,1-diphenyl–2 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl (OH) radicals scavenging abilities] and inhibition of Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation and two key enzymes relevant to type-2 diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) of snake tomato (Trichosanthes cucumerina) with two tomato varieties [Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. esculentum (ESC) and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. cerasiforme(CER)]. Snake tomato (0.84 mg/g) and CER (0.87 mg/g) had significantly (P < 0.05) higher total phenolic content than ESC (0.27 mg/g). However, CER had the highest total flavonoid content of 0.48 mg/g, compared to snake tomato (0.27 mg/g) and ESC (0.15 mg/g). In consonance with the phenolic content, CER and snake tomato had higher DPPH and OH radicals scavenging abilities than ESC. The inhibition of Fe2+ induced malondialdehyde (MDA) production in rats pancreas revealed that snake tomato had significantly lower inhibitory effect than CER. Furthermore, snake tomato and CER showed stronger inhibition of α-glucosidase [snake tomato (EC50 = 1.65 mg/ml), CER (EC50 = 1.32 mg/ml)] than α-amylase [snake tomato (EC50 = 2.15 mg/ml), CER (EC50 = 2.39 mg/ml)] activity. The antioxidant properties of snake tomato favourably compared with the cultivars of tomatoes, and its stronger inhibition of α-glucosidase activity than α-amylase activities suggests that snake tomato could be an alternative or complement to the use of lycopersicon tomatoes. Key words: Tomato, antioxidant, diabetes, flavonoids, α-amylase, α-glucosidase.
Highlights
Tricosanthes cucumerina, snake gourd, viper gourd or long tomato is rich in chemical constituents like flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids (Adebooye, 2008; Ojiako and Igwe, 2008)which makes the plant pharmacologically and therapeutically active
The inhibition of Fe2+ induced MDA production in rats pancreas is presented in Figure 3 and Table 2
The antioxidant capacities of the ‘tomato’ samples were assessed for comparison between the species and because free radicals are involved in the development and complications of diabetes in a number of ways; the white blood cell production of reactive oxygen species mediates the autoimmune destruction of the beta cells in the islets of langerhans in the pancreas (Yoon and Jun, 2005)
Summary
Tricosanthes cucumerina (commonly called snake tomato), snake gourd, viper gourd or long tomato is rich in chemical constituents like flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids (Adebooye, 2008; Ojiako and Igwe, 2008)which makes the plant pharmacologically and therapeutically active. Snake tomato has been used as a substitute for the common lycopersicon tomatoes in the tropics especially when the prices of the lycoper-sicon tomatoes go up in the off-season. The common tomatoes commonly used as diet almost all over the world, are a major source of antioxidants, and the consumption of fresh lycopersicon tomatoes has been reported to have health benefits such as cancer preven-tion and inhibition of lipid peroxidation (Bub et al, 2000; Ziegler and Vogt, 2002). There is dearth of information on some health benefits of snake tomato to justify its use as a substitute to the lycopersicon tomatoes. Diabetes is a major health problem worldwide along with its associated complications (Zimmet et al, 1997) and this could be linked to changes in the dietary patterns in both developing and developed countries. The prevalence of type II diabetes is growing at an exponential rate (Zimmet and Lefebvre, 1996) and a lot of attention is been given to natural products for the management of the disease (Covington, 2001)
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