Planta Med 2011; 77 - PM139
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282897

Evaluation of antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties of Malaysian Rubiaceae and correlation to their antioxidant potential

R Ahmad 1, EN Mahbob 1, NH Lajis 2, K Shaari 2, S Ahmad 2
  • 1Faculty of Applied Sciences, University Technology MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2Institute of Bioscience, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia

We have previously reported the antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts of 22 species of Rubiodeae plants (family Rubiaceae) [1]. In this paper, we now report the antihyperglycemic and anti-inflammatory properties of the 22 species. The assays employed were α-glucosidase inhibition assay for antidiabetic potential and Griess assay for the measurement of nitric oxide (NO) inhibition in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-treated RAW 264.7 cells. In the α-glucosidase inhibitory assay, extracts of Hydnophytum formicarum Jack, Psychotria griffithii Hook.f. and Urophyllum griffithianum Hook.f. were shown to be effective inhibitors against α-glucosidase. The results indicated that H. formicarum and P. griffithii showed high percent inhibition in the α-glucosidase inhibitory assay with percent inhibition of 89.8% and 87.7%, respectively. U. griffithianum showed moderate activity with percent inhibition of 68.4% while other species showed no activity. In the anti-inflammatory assay, Hedyotis philippinensis (Wild. ex Spreng.) Merr. ex C.B. Rob. (leaves and stems), Spermacoce exilis (L.O.Williams) C.D.Adams and Spermacoce latifolia Aubl. showed potent inhibitory activity on NO production in LPS and interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-induced RAW 264.7 cells. We have also found a good correlation (R2=0.684) between DPPH radical-scavenging activity and α-glucosidase inhibition. Our results support the findings that antioxidants (specifically, radical-scavengers) play an important role in the control and management of diabetes [2].

Keywords: Rubiaceae, Rubioideae, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, α-glucosidase, NO inhibition

Acknowledgement: Research and Management Institute (RMI), Universiti Teknologi MARA and Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) for research grant 600-RMI/ST/FRGS 5/3/FST(35/2009) and Dr Shamsul Khamis from Universiti Putra Malaysia for identification of plants.

References: 1. Ahmad R et al. (2010) African Journal of Biotechnology 9: 7948–7954.

2. Rahimi R, Nikfar S, Larijani B & Abdollahi M (2005) Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy 59: 365–373.