Albizia myriophylla Benth. is a medicinal herb which is used as a traditional remedy for various ailments including diabetes in Thailand. In our continued investigation of the biological activity of A. myriophylla, the ethanol extract, fractions and the isolated compounds from the wood of this plant were evaluated for in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition using spectrophotometric method. The plant ethanol extract and its different fractions possessed α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Dichloromethane fraction of the wood ethanol extract exhibited the highest percent inhibition against α-glucosidase (69.30%) among all fractions. Subsequent α-glucosidase inhibition assay proved that indenoic acid (1), 8-methoxy-7, 3',4'-trihydroxyflavone (2) and 3,4,7,3'-tetrahydroxyflavan (3) were partially rational for antidiabetic effect of this plant species. Among these compounds, 3 (IC50 98.59 μg/mL) exhibited potent inhibition of α-glucosidase, compared with a positive control acarbose (IC50 125 μg/mL). The inhibitory effect towards α-glucosidase of compounds 1-3 was reported herein for the first time.
Keywords: Albizia myriophylla; diabetes; flavonoids; traditional remedies; α-glucosidase.