Antidiabetic and antioxidant properties of Ficus deltoidea fruit extracts and fractions

Abstract

BackgroundDiabetes is a serious metabolic disorder affecting the metabolism of carbohydrate, protein and fat. A number of studies have shown that diabetes mellitus is associated with oxidative stress, leading to an increased production of reactive oxygen species. Ficus deltoidea is traditionally used in Malaysia for regulating blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The use of F. deltoidea as an alternative medicinal herb is increasingly gaining popularity with the sale of F. deltoidea tea bags and capsules in the local market. The present study was undertaken to investigate the antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of the fruits from different varieties of F. deltoidea, employing in vitro methods.MethodTwo fruit varieties of F. deltoidea (var. angustifolia (SF) and var. kunstleri (BF)) were extracted separately using double-distilled water. The resulting aqueous extracts were partitioned using ethyl acetate to obtain the ethyl acetate and water fractions. The crude aqueous extracts and the corresponding fractions were evaluated for their phenolic, flavonoid, sugar and protein contents. Protein profiling of the extracts and fractions were also carried out by means of SDS-PAGE and SELDI-TOF MS. Antidiabetic activities were assessed based on the ability of the samples to inhibit yeast and mammalian α-glucosidase as well as α-amylase. Antioxidant capacities were examined by measuring the ability of the samples to reduce ferric ions and to scavenge DPPH, superoxide anion, ABTS and nitric oxide radicals.ResultsThe crude extracts and fractions of SF and BF inhibited both yeast and rat intestinal α-glucosidases in a dose-dependent manner, but did not inhibit porcine pancreatic α-amylase. The water fraction of BF showed the highest percentage of α-glucosidase inhibition while having the highest amount of protein (73.33 ± 4.99 μg/mg fraction). All the extracts and fractions exhibited antioxidant activities, with SF crude extract showing the highest antioxidant activity and phenolic content (121.62 ± 4.86 mg/g extract). Fractionation of the crude extracts resulted in loss of antioxidant activities. There was no positive correlation between phenolic and flavonoid content with α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. However, phenolic content correlated well with antioxidant activities of the crude extracts but not with the fractions.ConclusionsThe antioxidant activities of the fruits of F. deltoidea might be asserted by the phenolic content but other polar plant components were possibly involved in the antidiabetic properties. The study of these compounds having both antihyperglycemic and antioxidant activities may provide a new approach in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Standardized extract of Ficus deltoidea stimulates insulin secretion and blocks hepatic glucose production by regulating the expression of glucose-metabolic genes in streptozitocin-induced diabetic rats

“…However, the recent studies correlated the remarkable antioxidant and α-glucosidases inhibitory activities of F. deltoidea with its antidiabetic property [10,15]. As circumstance this study aims to investigate the possible mechanism responsible for glucose lowering effect of F. deltoidea by studying the expression of GK, Glc-6-Pase, PEPCK, GLUT2 and PPARγ genes in liver and GLUT4 in muscle of streptozitocin-induced diabetic rats.…”

In vitro inhibitory activities of selected Australian medicinal plant extracts against protein glycation, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and digestive enzymes linked to type II diabetes

“…In the present study, the IC 50 values for both α-amylase and α-glucosidase were poorly correlated with the total phenolic, flavonoid, DPPH and FRAP (Table 5). The lack of correlation between the total phenolics and enzyme inhibitory activities has been previously reported [41, 45]. The various relationships reported in the literature clearly suggest that the total phenolics and their antioxidant capacities do not define hyperglycaemia related enzyme inhibition.…”

Green Tropical Phytoextracts - Promising Anticancer Alternative

“…A high amount of epicatechin found in leaves might be responsible for the strong radical scavenging activities found in the extract. The presence of a number of potent phytochemicals may be the reason for its strong antioxidant and/or antineoplastic capacity of F. deltoidea resulting in a rather rapid and effective killing of prostate cancer cells in comparison with L. pumila (15,33,43,44). Apoptosis is the terminal event in the biology of cells during which the cell components are transformed into apoptotic bodies.…”