EVALUATION OF ALPHA – AMYLASE AND ALPHA – GLUCOSIDASE INHIBITORY ACTIVITIES OF RHIZOPHORA MUCRONATA

Rhizophora mucronata Lam. belongs to mangrove plants and antidiabetic activity is one of the traditional uses of R. mucronata.  One of the anti-diabetic therapeutic strategies is inhibition of carbohydrate digesting enzymes such as alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. Hence in the present study, 2 extract namely, aqueous and ethanol of Rhizophora mucronata Lam. were evaluated for their effect on alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase enzymes using in vitro assays. Ethanol extract showed the highest alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity (IC₅₀= 9.45 µg/ml) than aqueous extract. Ethanol extract inhibited the enzyme more potently than the standard acarbose. Further, the antioxidant activity of extracts was monitored using DPPH assay, whereas, phenolic content was estimated using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. The alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity of R. mucronata correlated to antioxidant activity and phenolic content of extracts. However, these extracts showed no alpha-amylase inhibitory effect. Besides, R. mucronata has shown anti-HIV potential in our previous study. Oxidative stress and anti-HIV drugs are associated with diabetes. Our current and previous studies thus report anti-diabetic, antioxidant and anti-HIV activities of R. mucronata