Diabetes is the most common endocrine disorder globally, and adverse side effects frequently hinder the effectiveness of current diabetes pharmacotherapies. The study was therefore carried out to assess the in vitro antidiabetic and antioxidant potential of Globimetula oreophila aerial parts and Solanum erianthum leaves extracts, as well as analyze the bioactive compounds using an analytical high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with an ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) detector and an online library.
The toxicity of the plant extracts was also determined using the Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay (BSLA). G oreophila and S. erianthum displayed a radical scavenging activity of 23±0.34 and 39.8±0.63 µg/mL, in comparison with the positive standard, ascorbic acid, 1.517±0.12 µg/mL. The extracts exhibited a total phenolic content of 44.2 and 24.0 mg GAE/g, respectively.
The BSLA results showed LC50 values of 993.5 and 387.4 µg/mL, compared with the positive standard, cyclophosphamide, LC50=16.3 µg/mL. The extracts also showed a notable enzyme-inhibitory effect (IC50=3.052 and 5.544 µg/mL) on α-amylase as compared to the positive control, acarbose, with an IC50=0.18 µg/mL.
In the HPLC analysis of G. oreophila and S. erianthum, the UV-VIS detector detected 25 and 32 peaks, respectively; however, based on the reference library, 12 and 10 compounds with pharmacological potential were identified. Thus, these medicinal plants could serve as a natural alternative or complement to conventional diabetes medications, potentially reducing side effects.
Moreover, it may lead to the discovery of novel bioactive compounds that can be utilized in drug development.