In Vitro α-Glucosidase, α-Amylase Inhibitory and Antioxidant Activities of Root Crude Extract and Solvent Fractions of Arbutus unedo L. (Ericaceae)

Abstract

The roots of Arbutus unedo (Ericaceae) have been used traditionally to treat diabetes mellitus in some countries. More research is needed to support this plant's potential antidiabetic properties, though. The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic activity of roots crude extract and solvent fractions of A. unedo. Cold maceration was used to obtain the ethanolic extract of A. unedo. This ethanolic extract was then subjected into fractionation to get hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and aqueous fractions. By carrying out several phytochemical group tests, the phytochemical content of ethanol extract and all other fractions was examined. The total phenolic contents of were also estimated. Extracts from A. unedo were tested for their in vitro antioxidant capacity utilizing 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and ferric ion reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay models, respectively. Antidiabetic activity of ethanolic extract and fractions of A. unedo was evaluated using in vitro α-glucosidase, α-amylase inhibition activity. The ethanol extract had the highest antioxidant activity among used extracts. While the results of both α-glucosidase, α-amylase enzyme inhibition activity was detected to be dose-dependent, the strongest inhibition activity for α-glucosidase and α-amylase was shown by ethanol extract (526.65 and 522.66 µg mL-1 respectively) compared to the standard acarbose. The results demonstrated the beneficial effects of A. unedo extracts by showing antioxidant potential and inhibiting α-glucosidase, α-amylase activities. This can be evidence that the claimed traditional use as antidiabetic has scientific ground.