Fijian medicinal plants and their role in the prevention of Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Medicinal plants (MPs) are natural sources of active compounds with potential therapeutic benefits in alleviating various illnesses for decades. Fijian people also are using these MPs for the management/prevention of T2DM and associated complications. However, till date, none of these Fijian MP’s antidiabetic potential have been explored/or evaluated. Here, we investigated the antidiabetic potential of Fijian MPs scientifically. Phytochemicals such as polyphenols were detected to inhibit the activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase; the two key carbohydrate enzymes linked to T2DM. Therefore, in this study, TPC, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of five Fijian MPs were collected & evaluated.The ME extracts of BO (0.102 ± 0.009 mM CE) and DC (0.098 ± 0.09 mM CE) showed a higher TPC compared to the control. The ME extracts of MF and MR inhibited α-glucosidase significantly in compare to acarbose as evidenced from the IC₅₀ values (IC₅₀ of MF = 1.58 ± 0.03 ng/µL; IC₅₀ of MR = 1.87 ± 0.43 ng/µL and IC₅₀ of acarbose = 3.34 ± 0.15 ng/µL). Moreover, DM extracts of MR (IC₅₀ = 1.31 ± 0.29 ng/µL) also showed significantly higher α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. In contrary, MR (IC₅₀ = 16.18 ± 0.16 ng/µL) and CL (IC₅₀ = 9.21 ± 0.51 ng/µL) also showed significant α-amylase inhibitory activity in ME and DM extracts, respectively. These, results suggest that Fijian MPs could be a potential source of natural inhibitors of enzymes involved in carbohydrate digestion and thus may possibly be used in managing T2DM.