Alpha-glucosidase and DPP-IV Inhibitory Activities of Ethanol Extract from Caesalpinia sappan, Andrographis paniculata, and Syzygium cumini

Abstract

Elephantorrhiza elephantine (Burch) Skeels is a plant used extensively in the southern African countries as a source of food and to treat diseases and conditions caused by pathogenic microorganisms. [1][2][3][4] Elephantorrhiza elephantine is a member of the Fabaceae family and of the genus Elephantorrhiza. This species, elephantine, is spread widely among the southern African countries of Botswana; Namibia, Lesotho and provinces like Limpopo, North West, Mpumalanga, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. 5,6 Elephantorrhiza elephantine has many known names amongst different indigenous countries and documented literature. It is known as elandsbean (in English); mupangara (in Shona), intolwane (in Xhosa and Zulu); mositsane (in Sotho and Tswana) and elandsboontjies (in Afrikaans). [7][8][9][10][11] The plant image is represented in (Figure1a). The plant grows naturally in open grassy slopes and hillsides, and produces red roots that look like sweet potatoes. 9 The reddish root seen in (Figure 1b) is the most commonly used part of the plant in traditional medicine 2 and is used as remedy for the following conditions/diseases: diarrhoea and dysentery; diabetes, 3 chest complaints, heart conditions, hypertension, syphilis, infertility in women, bladder problems, urinary tract infections, waist pain in infants, fever and haemorrhoids. 4,12 The plant description of Elephantorrhiza elephantine and taxonomy Elephantorrhiza elephantine is a perennial low shrub with stems up to 90 cm tall at ground level and from the woody end of an elongated, often thickened rhizome up to 8 m long. The leaves consist of 2-4 pairs of pinnae in lower leaves and 7-17 pairs in upper ones, where the axis is up to 10 cm long. 3,12 The scientific classification of Elephantorrhiza elephantine derives from the Kingdom Plante; the Phylum Tracheophyta, the Class Magnoliopsida, the Order Fabales, the Family Fabaceae, the Genus Elephantorrhiza and Species elephantine. 13,14