Abstract
BackgroundTraditional Indian and Australian medicinal plant extracts were investigated to determine their therapeutic potential to inhibit key enzymes in carbohydrate metabolism, which has relevance to the management of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes. The antioxidant activities were also assessed.MethodsThe evaluation of enzyme inhibitory activity of seven Australian aboriginal medicinal plants and five Indian Ayurvedic plants was carried out against α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Antioxidant activity was determined by measuring (i) the scavenging effect of plant extracts against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2, 2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS) and (ii) ferric reducing power. Total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were also determined.ResultsOf the twelve plant extracts evaluated, the highest inhibitory activity against both α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes was exerted by Santalum spicatum and Pterocarpus marsupium with IC50 values of 5.43 μg/ml and 0.9 μg/ml, respectively, and 5.16 μg/ml and 1.06 μg/ml, respectively. However, the extracts of Acacia ligulata (IC50 = 1.01 μg/ml), Beyeria leshnaultii (0.39 μg/ml), Mucuna pruriens (0.8 μg/ml) and Boerhaavia diffusa (1.72 μg/ml) exhibited considerable activity against α-glucosidase enzyme only. The free radical scavenging activity was found to be prominent in extracts of Acacia kempeana, Acacia ligulata followed by Euphorbia drummondii against both DPPH and ABTS. The reducing power was more pronounced in Euphorbia drummondii and Pterocarpus marsupium extracts. The phenolic and flavonoid contents ranged from 0.42 to 30.27 μg/mg equivalent of gallic acid and 0.51 to 32.94 μg/mg equivalent of quercetin, respectively, in all plant extracts. Pearson’s correlation coefficient between total flavonoids and total phenolics was 0.796.ConclusionThe results obtained in this study showed that most of the plant extracts have good potential for the management of hyperglycemia, diabetes and the related condition of oxidative stress.
Highlights
Traditional Indian and Australian medicinal plant extracts were investigated to determine their therapeutic potential to inhibit key enzymes in carbohydrate metabolism, which has relevance to the management of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes
Agents based on natural products are attractive as side effects are minimal and the therapies are well-tolerated compared to the other oral hypoglycemic agents currently available
Type 2 diabetes was previously considered as maturityonset diabetes but, due to increasing rates of obesity, there is an increasing risk of developing this disease in childhood [45,46]
Summary
Traditional Indian and Australian medicinal plant extracts were investigated to determine their therapeutic potential to inhibit key enzymes in carbohydrate metabolism, which has relevance to the management of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes mellitus is an important metabolic syndrome. The increasing worldwide incidence of diabetes mellitus in adults constitutes a global public health burden. The management of diabetes can be achieved by reducing post-prandial hyperglycemia by delaying the activities of the enzymes α-amylase and α-glucosidase which are responsible for the digestion of carbohydrates and absorption of glucose in the digestive tract, respectively [5,6]. The single most prescribed agent for the treatment of diabetes, originated from herbal medicine [7,8]. A plant-derived antidiabetic agent, galegine, was isolated from Galega officinalis. Experimental and clinical evaluations provided the pharmacological and chemical basis for the subsequent discovery of metformin [7,9]. 1- deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), a potent α-glucosidase Inhibitor, was isolated from the water extract of leaves of the mulberry tree (Morus alba L.) [10]
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