Phenolic profiles and biological properties of traditional Phyllanthus amarus aqueous extracts used for diabetes

Abstract

• Traditional infusion and decoction Guadeloupe’s methods were used in this study. • Caffeoylhexaric acid has been detected, for the first time, in P. amarus species. • All extracts show strong antioxidant activity and glucose-6-phosphatase inhibition. • Dried plant extracts exhibit strong rise of glucose uptake similar to insulin. For the first time, a complete study, including the fresh and dried aerial parts of Phyllanthus amarus was performed using Guadeloupe's population traditional extraction methods. In this study, the antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of P. amarus infusion and decoction in water with short boiling time, were evaluated using glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme in H4IIE hepatic cells inhibition and stimulation of glucose uptake in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells, as well as using 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. A compound, caffeoyl hexaric acid, was tentatively identified for the first time in P. amarus extracts, using UHPLC-HRMS. Only dried aerial parts extracts exhibited strong stimulation of glucose uptake similar to that of insulin with an increase of 23%. The infusion of fresh material appeared to be the best way for aerial parts maximal anti-hyperglycemic activity with 55.8 ± 2.61% of glucose-6-phosphatase inhibition.