Abstract
Objective: High blood sugar can lead to diabetes, a chronic illness which is becoming a public health challenge in the 21st century in Thailand. The aim of this study was to survey the local vegetables traditionally used by traditional healers for reducing hyperglycemia and normally consumed in Surat Thani Province and to analyze the total phenolic content (TPC) in these local vegetables.Methods: Data were collected using in-depth interview of traditional healers from nine districts of Surat Thani Province, and TPC of the extracts of vegetables collected was determined by Folin–Ciocalteu reagent method.Results: A total of 16 local vegetables have been found to be used by traditional healers for reducing blood sugar: Ocimun tenuiflorum Linn., Musa acuminate Colla, Cassia siamea (Lam.) Irwin and Barneby, Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt, Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb., Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. subsp. Unguiculata, Ipomoea aquatic Forssk., Phyllanthus emblica Linn., Solanum torvum Sw., Anacardium occidentale Linn., Momordica charantia Linn., Moringa oleifera Lamk., Archidendron jiringa Nielsen, Azadirachta indica A. Juss. var. Indica, Parkia speciosa Hassk., and Micromelum minutum (G. Forst.) Wight and Arn. In addition, the TPC results showed that the extract of A. occidentale Linn. exhibited the highest TPC (8.0±0.11 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g fresh weight) followed by the extract of M. minutum (G. Forst.) Wight and Arn. (3.99±0.10 mg GAE/g fresh weight).Conclusion: Local vegetables in Surat Thani were shown to be a good source of TPC, and the data from this study can serve as fundamental information for promoting consumption of selected local vegetables for diabetes prevention in the future.
Highlights
Hyperglycemia is one of the characteristic features of the metabolic syndrome, which is associated with an increased risk of developing type II diabetes [1]
Data related to the utilization of local vegetables for reducing hyperglycemia were first reviewed from the literature search of traditional remedies for the treatment of diabetes in Southern Thailand and rechecked using in-depth interview of traditional healers from nine districts in Surat Thani Province
Ethnobotanical data The results of the present study showed that 16 local vegetables which are commonly consumed in Surat Thani Province and traditionally
Summary
Hyperglycemia is one of the characteristic features of the metabolic syndrome ( known as syndrome X), which is associated with an increased risk of developing type II diabetes [1]. According to the statistics of the International Diabetes Federation (2017), it is estimated that around 1 in 11 of the adult population globally have diabetes. This number of people with diabetes is increasing rapidly in every country due to an imbalance in dietary intake, physical inactivity, and excess body weight as well as to genetic and physiological factors [2]. A number of studies have provided evidence that consumption of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of various diseases such as cancer [3] and cardiovascular disease [4], including type II diabetes mellitus, for example, El-Beshbishy and Bahashwan (2012) demonstrated that aqueous extracted from basil (Ocimum basilicum) inhibit alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase activities, the enzymes involved in breaking down starch, in vitro [5]. The authors revealed that phenolic compounds in plants account for the observed beneficial effects of the extracts
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