ANTIDIABETIC AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF IMPORTANT TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM NORTHEASTERN INDIA

The antidiabetic and antioxidant efficacy of traditional medicinal plants from North-Eastern India remains largely unexplored. This study seeks to address this gap by examining the properties of 11 such plants. The plant samples were subjected to extraction using four different solvents. Their antidiabetic potential was evaluated through in-vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition bioassays, while the antioxidant activity was assessed using the DPPH Scavenging assay. The results were compared to the standard antidiabetic drug, acarbose. Out of the 11 plants, five species demonstrated significant antidiabetic properties, inhibiting more than 50% of α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzyme activities. The petroleum ether tuber extract of Stephania glandulifera exhibited the highest α-glucosidase inhibition (99%), followed by the methanol leaf extract of Begonia roxburghii (94%) and the water leaf extract of Antidesma acidum (85%). In the α-amylase inhibition assay, Equisetum debile methanol extracts showed a 64% inhibition, followed by the leaf extract of A. acidum with a 62% inhibition in the methanol leaf extracts. Comparatively, methanol and water leaf extracts of Debregeasia longifolia displayed 64% and 67% inhibitions, respectively. The water extract of B. roxburghii demonstrated significant antioxidant activity (57%), while the other samples showed less than 50% effectiveness. Notably, the α-glucosidase inhibition consistently exceeded the α-amylase inhibition across the samples. This study confirms the antidiabetic properties of five out of the 11 ethnomedicinal plants, as evidenced by the in-vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory assays. These findings support the traditional use of these plants in the management of diabetes and emphasize the need for further in-vivo studies, which could contribute to the development of novel herbal formulations or therapeutic drugs for the treatment of diabetes.