Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder of glucose metabolism. The management of blood glucose level is the hallmark in the treatment of this disease. This may be achieved through the use of oral hypoglycemic drugs such as biguanides, insulin secretagogues, and α-glucosidase inhibitors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of Morinda lucida leaf extracts on the activities of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. This was performed using α-amylase from Aspergillus oryzae and α-glucosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Aqueous extract of Morinda lucida gave the highest percentage yield (9.99%) of the plant out of the three extracts (compared to acetone and ethanolic extracts) and possesses the highest inhibitory activity against α-amylase (IC50 value of 2.30 mg/mL) and α-glucosidase (IC50 value of 2.00 mg/mL). Kinetic analysis revealed that the aqueous extract of this plant leaf inhibited the α-amylase competitively but displayed mixed noncompetitive mode of inhibition towards α-glucosidase. It can be concluded that aqueous extract of Morinda lucida exhibited the best inhibitory activity on the two enzymes studied and the presence of phytochemicals like flavonoids, saponins, and tannins may have contributed greatly to the inhibitory activity of the plant extract.

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In order to evaluate the anti-hyperglycemic effect of natural compounds via the inhibition of alpha-glucosidase (AGH), the potential inhibitory effect of anthocyanins, caffeic acid analogs, and caffeoylquinic acid analogs have been reviewed. A new AGH assay system to mimic the membrane-bound AGH at the small intestine was proposed and evaluated.

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