Evaluation of in vitro antidiabetic and anti-microbial activity of edible red seaweed Porphyra vietnamensis

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes is one among the top ten leading cause of mortality in the world with an incidence rate of 422 million. The current study aimed at investigating the antidiabetic activity of edible red seaweed Porphyra vietnamensis. Materials and Methods Crude extract was subjected to UV- Visible light spectroscopy, phytochemical screening, quantification of total tannin content, DPPH free radical scavenging, alpha amylase inhibition assay and glucose uptake potential by yeast cell assay. Results Phytochemicals study revealed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, phenols, lignins, saponins and further, total tannin content was estimated to be 31 ± 0.00125mg/g. The methanolic extract of Porphyra vietnamensis displayed highest DPPH free radical scavenging activity of 35.19% at 100µg/ml. The alpha amylase inhibition potential of the extract showed 11.5% at 400 and 13.5% at 500µg/ml. Glucose utilization of yeast cells treated with extract with different (5, 15 and 25mM) concentration of glucose showed a linear increase in the glucose uptake percent. The uptake percent was 31.7, 29.5 and 38.27% for 5, 15 and 25mM glucose concentration respectively, exhibiting its ability to transport glucose across the yeast cell membrane. The toxicity study resulted in more than 60% of cell survival rate in all the concentrations taken proving its safety for human consumption. Conclusion The result of the study concludes that Porphyra vietnamensis could be utilized as functional food due to its dietary source for treating diabetic conditions naturally. Further research can be done to evaluate the potential on diabetic mouse (in vivo) condition.