Antioxidant and alpha-amylase inhibitory potentials of Cocos nucifera husk

Chemo-profiling and exploring therapeutic potential of Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd. for managing metabolic related disorders: In-vitro studies, and docking based approach

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd. (M. dioica Roxb.) a nutritious and therapeutic property rich crop of Cucurbitaceae plant family. In various folklore medicine including Ayurveda fruits are used to treat several metabolic related disorders i.e., hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity etc. Furthermore, traditionally it is used to treat fever, inflammation, ulcer, skin diseases, haemorrhoids, hypertension and also employed as cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, analgesic, diuretic.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study focuses to explore the therapeutic potential of Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd. through in-vitro and in-silico approach for managing hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and related metabolic disorders along with its phytochemical profiling for quality evaluation and validation of traditional claim.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study was carried out on hydroalcohol extract of dried leaf and fruit of Momordica dioica. In-vitro antioxidant potential using DPPH and Nitric oxide scavenging assay along with in-vitro enzyme inhibitory potential against α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase enzymes was studied. The bioactive metabolites were identified from the most potent bioactive extract by analysis with LC-QTOF-MS and also studied their role to lessen the metabolic related disorder through in-silico approaches.

RESULTS

The results confirmed that the fruit extract is more active to possess antioxidant and prominent enzyme inhibition potential compared to the leaf. Sixteen identified metabolites in M. dioica Roxb. fruits may be responsible for the therapeutic potential related to metabolic related disorder. The in-silico study of the identified phytomolecules against α-amylase, α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase showed significant docking scores ranging from -9.8 to -5.5, -8.3 to -4.8 and -8.3 to -6 respectively.

CONCLUSION

The current study illustrated that M. dioica Roxb., a traditionally important plant is potential against metabolic related disorders. Phytocomponents present in the fruit extract may be responsible for antioxidant as well as the enzymes' inhibitory potential. Thus, fruits of M. dioica Roxb. will be useful as alternative therapeutics for treatment of hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and related metabolic disorders.

Inhibitory Effects against Alpha-Amylase of an Enriched Polyphenol Extract from Pericarp of Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)

The pericarp of mangosteen, a by-product of the mangosteen, is rich in polyphenols. In this study, an efficient and environmentally friendly method for preparative enrichment of polyphenols from mangosteen pericarp (MPPs) was developed, and the inhibitory effects on starch digestion were also evaluated. It was found that the optimal extract method of MPPs was at a solid to solvent ratio of 1:50 g/mL, pH of 2, and at 80 °C for 2 h. The IC₅₀ of MPPs for α-amylase was 0.28 mg/mL. Based on the fluorescence quenching results, we presumed that MPPs could alter the natural structure of α-amylase, resulting in inhibitory activity on α-amylase. In addition, MPPs significantly reduced the blood glucose peak and AUC of glucose responses in rats after ingestion of the starch solution. Taken together, MPPs may have the potential as a functional supplement for blood glucose control and diabetes prevention.

Up-to-Date Overview of the Use of Natural Ingredients in Sunscreens

The photoprotective skincare segment is in high demand to meet consumer concerns on UV-induced skin damage, with a recent trend towards sunscreen alternatives with a natural origin. In this study, the use of natural ingredients, either from terrestrial or marine origin, in a panel of 444 sunscreen commercial formulations (2021) was analyzed. Ingredients from terrestrial organisms represent the large majority found in the analyzed sunscreen formulations (48%), whereas marine ingredients are present only in 13% of the analyzed products. A deeper analysis regarding the most prevalent families of ingredients from terrestrial and marine organisms used as top ingredients is also presented, as well as their mechanisms of action. This study provides an up-to-date overview of the sunscreen market regarding the use of natural ingredients, which is of relevance for scientists involved in the development of new sunscreens to identify opportunities for innovation.

Using polyphenols as a relevant therapy to diabetes and its complications, a review

Diabetes is currently a worldwide health concern. Hyperglycemia, hypertension, obesity, and oxidative stress are the major risk factors that inevitably lead to all the complications from diabetes. These complications severely impact the quality of life of patients, and they can be managed, reduced, or even reverted by several polyphenols, plant extracts and foods rich in these compounds. The goal of this review is to approach diabetes not as a single condition but rather an interconnected combination of risk factors and complications. This work shows that polyphenols have multi target action and effects and they have been systematically proven to be relevant in the reduction of each risk factor and improvement of associated complication.

Phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of coconut cotyledon

Coconut tree (Cocos nucifera L.), a perennial, monocot tree, belonging to the family Arecaceae, is distributed through the tropics. Bioactivities of coconut water, husk fiber, oil, flowers, spadix and mesocarp of coconut fruit are widely reported. However, there is no study on cotyledon of coconut. In this study, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, phenols, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and antioxidants were quantified in hot and cold percolated extracts of coconut cotyledon. Further, the antioxidant activity was studied using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH); ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP); ferric thiocyanate (FTC); thiobarbituric acid (TBA); nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging and β-carotene bleaching assays. Among the secondary metabolites, only cardiac glycosides were detected. Methanolic extraction by cold percolation extracted high content of secondary metabolites and exhibited significant antioxidant activity in DPPH, FRAP, NO and β-carotene bleaching assays, with EC₅₀ of 0.12, 6.43, 16.21 and 8.09 mg/ml respectively. The chloroform extracts recorded high lipid content and scavenged the radicals in FTC (EC₅₀ 13.31 mg/ml) and TBA (EC₅₀ 9.21 mg/ml) assays. The study recommends extraction of compounds using methanol through cold percolation. The cotyledon of coconut is found to be a potent nutritive source equivalent to the endosperm.

Reduction of blood glucose by plant extracts and their use in the treatment of diabetes mellitus; discrepancies in effectiveness between animal and human studies

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The global problem of diabetes, together with the limited access of large numbers of patients to conventional antidiabetic medicines, continues to drive the search for new agents. Ancient Asian systems such as traditional Chinese medicine, Japanese Kampo medicine, and Indian Ayurvedic medicine, as well as African traditional medicine and many others have identified numerous plants reported anecdotally to treat diabetes; there are probably more than 800 such plants for which there is scientific evidence for their activity, mostly from studies using various models of diabetes in experimental animals.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

Rather than a comprehensive coverage of the literature, this article aims to identify discrepancies between findings in animal and human studies, and to highlight some of the problems in developing plant extract-based medicines that lower blood glucose in patients with diabetes, as well as to suggest potential ways forward.

METHODS

In addition to searching the 2018 PubMed literature using the terms 'extract AND blood glucose, a search of the whole literature was conducted using the terms 'plant extracts' AND 'blood glucose' AND 'diabetes' AND 'double blind' with 'clinical trials' as a filter. A third search using PubMed and Medline was undertaken for systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating the effects of plant extracts on blood glucose/glycosylated haemoglobin in patients with relevant metabolic pathologies.

FINDINGS

Despite numerous animal studies demonstrating the effects of plant extracts on blood glucose, few randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have been conducted to confirm efficacy in treating humans with diabetes; there have been only a small number of systematic reviews with meta-analyses of clinical studies. Qualitative and quantitative discrepancies between animal and human clinical studies in some cases were marked; the factors contributing to this included variations in the products among different studies, the doses used, differences between animal models and the human disease, and the impact of concomitant therapy in patients, as well as differences in the duration of treatment, and the fact that treatment in animals may begin before or very soon after the induction of diabetes.

CONCLUSION

The potential afforded by natural products has not yet been realised in the context of treating diabetes mellitus. A systematic, coordinated, international effort is required to achieve the goal of providing anti-diabetic treatments derived from medicinal plants.

Pharmacological activities of 4-methylene-8-hydroxybisabola-2,10-diene-9-one, a new compound isolated from Ryudai gold (Curcuma longa)

We previously reported the antifungal, antioxidant, and vasodilator effects of Ryudai gold (RD) and isolated some potentially active compounds. Here, we aimed to identify other active compounds present in RD and investigate their pharmacological effects, in terms of antioxidant, and inhibitory activities against skin disease-related enzymes, pancreatic α-amylase, and lipase enzymes. The methanol extract of RD rhizomes was subjected to repeated fractionation by silica gel column, Toyopearl HW-40F column, and high-performance liquid chromatography to obtain a pure compound. The isolated compound was characterized by analyzing its spectroscopic data, particularly nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Inhibitory activities against α-amylase, pancreatic lipase, elastase, collagenase, xanthine oxidase, and tyrosinase were evaluated to investigate its potential antidiabetic, antiobesity, and enzyme inhibitory effects. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-scavenging, reducing power, and 2-deoxyribose degradation assays. The purified compound was recognized as 4-methylene-8-hydroxybisabola-2,10-diene-9-one, a new compound. The content of this compound was 0.068 μmol/g or 0.016 mg/g of dry RG powder. Our results suggested that 4-methylene-8-hydroxybisabola-2,10-diene-9-one exhibited antidiabetic, antiobesity, enzyme inhibitory, and antioxidant activities by inhibiting their respective enzymes activity. 4-methylene-8-hydroxybisabola-2,10-diene-9-one could be a promising candidate therapeutic agent or a lead compound for the development of new synthetic drugs.