FT-IR analysis of Sapium ellipticum (Hochst) pax ethanol leaf extract and its inhibitory effects on pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase activities in vitro

This study investigated the inhibitory effects of Sapium ellipticum (SE) (Hochst) Pax leaf extract on some carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase activities in vitro. The inhibitory potential of SE extract was measured against Quercetin. SE extract in a dose dependent pattern significantly inhibited the activity of pancreatic α-amylase by 67.2% at 10 mg/mL. This effect was comparable to that of quercetin which offered 82.6% α-amylase inhibition. In terms of intestinal α-glucosidase activity, the inhibitory effect of the extract was significantly lower than that of quercetin at all investigated concentrations. At 10 mg mL−1 (maximum tested concentration), SE extract exhibited 35.8% inhibitory activity on α-intestinal glucosidase compared to the 74.3% exhibited by Quercetin at the same concentration. Phytochemical analysis results showed that SE contained 74 ± 3.12 milligram Gallic acid equivalents of total phenols and 67.2 ± 2.04 milligram Quercetin equivalents of flavonoids per gram of extract. Fourier Transformed Infra red spectroscopy (FT-IR) of SE extract revealed the presence of active functional groups reminiscence of polyphenols. Alpha amylase and α-glucosidase activities (in vivo) greatly contribute to postprandial hyperglycemia which is a great risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus. The inhibitory potential of SE extract on these enzymes as observed in this study suggests a positive and probable role of the extract in the management and treatment of diabetes mellitus, particularly, type 2.