Scopoletin inhibits α-glucosidase in vitro and alleviates postprandial hyperglycemia in mice with diabetes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether scopoletin could inhibit the activities of the carbohydrate digestive enzymes, α-glucosidase and α-amylase, and reduce postprandial hyperglycemia in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in mice. Scopoletin showed a distinct inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase and α-amylase. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of scopoletin was 85.12 and 37.36 μM for α-glucosidase and α-amylase, respectively, which were lower values than those for acarbose. The increase in postprandial blood glucose levels was significantly suppressed in the scopoletin group compared to the control group of STZ-induced diabetes in mice. Moreover, the area under the curve significantly decreased with the administration of scopoletin in STZ-induced diabetes in mice. These results showed that scopoletin might help to lower postprandial hyperglycemia through inhibition of carbohydrate digestive enzymes.