Abstract
The flowers of M. velutina were extracted with ethanol to obtain a crude extract that was consecutively extracted using n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and water. The crude extract and fractions were studied for the chemical composition and antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. The extracts had various phytoconstituents, namely steroids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids and glycosides. The aqueous extract had the highest total polyphenol (12.6 mg GAE/g extract) and total flavonoid (205.6 mg QE/g extract) content. The aqueous extract exhibited the strongest antioxidant activities in the ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (EC50 = 4.0 µg/mL), reducing power assay (EC50 = 78.1 µg/mL), 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid radical cation assay (EC50 = 48.2 µg/mL), total antioxidant capacity assay (EC50 = 8.7 µg/mL) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay (EC50 = 9.3 µg/mL). The aqueous extract showed the strongest inhibitory effect on the activity of α-amylase (IC50 = 376.6 μg/mL) and α-glucosidase (IC50 = 69.7 μg/mL). The results showed that the aqueous extract of M. velutina flowers can be a promising candidate for the control of diabetes and oxidative stress. This is the first report about the chemical components and antioxidant and antidiabetic activities of M. velutina flower extracts.
Highlights
Accepted: 2 December 2021Diabetes is a chronic systemic disease that is often associated with hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceridemia [1]
The chemical analysis of five extracts from M. velutina flowers showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and steroids (Table 1), while saponins and glycosides were only present in the ethanol and aqueous extracts
The results indicate that alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and steroids can be soluble in both polar and non-polar solvents, while only highly polar solvents can solubilize glycosides and saponins
Summary
Diabetes is a chronic systemic disease that is often associated with hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceridemia [1]. One of the treatments for diabetes management is to slow down the absorption of postprandial glucose by inhibiting α-amylase and α-glucosidase, two enzymes responsible for the hydrolysis of carbohydrate [2]. Natural products can be efficiently used as inhibitors of these enzymes and often have less side effects than synthetic drugs [3]. The impaired glucose metabolism results in excessive production of free radicals and enhances oxidative stress in the body. Antioxidants were demonstrated to have a protective effect against free radicals. Antioxidant therapy has been emerging as a promising treatment for the management of aging and chronic diseases
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