The purpose of this research was to investigate the inhibitory effect of jicama extract on α-glucosidase activity, α-amylase activity, and postprandial hyperglycemia in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Jicama extract showed prominent inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase and α-amylase. The IC50 values of jicama extract against α-glucosidase and α-amylase were 0.083±0.004 and 0.091±0.017 mg/mL, respectively. The increase in postprandial blood glucose levels was more significantly suppressed in the jicama extract-administered group than in the control group of both STZ-induced diabetic and normal mice. Blood glucose levels of the control group increased to 383.75±11.54 and 402.50±15.32 mg/dL at 30 and 60 min after a meal and decreased to 349.67±11.62 mg/dL at 120 min. However, postprandial blood glucose levels were significantly decreased, when diabetic mice were fed with jicama extract (342.00±15.73, 367.00±13.00, and 329.67±12.43 mg/dL at 30, 60, and 120 min, respectively). Furthermore, the area under the curve was significantly decreased with jicama extract administration in diabetic mice (P<0.05). Therefore, these results indicate that jicama extract may help decrease postprandial blood glucose level by inhibiting α-glucosidase.
Keywords: diabetic mice; jicama extract; postprandial hyperglycemia.