Adenosma bracteosum Bonati. (A. bracteosum) has been used in traditional and modern medicine in Vietnam for curing hepatitis. In this study, ethanol and aqueous extracts of A. bracteosum were evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities and anti-hyperglycemic effects on glucose loaded hyperglycemic and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic mice. The α-glucosidase inhibition of the extracts was evaluated by colorimetric assays, and the anti-diabetic activity was tested on a STZ-induced diabetic mice model. The ethanol and aqueous extracts showed a significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, which was more effective than acarbose at the same concentration. In the STZ-induced diabetic mice, both extracts showed a strong anti-hyperglycemic activity, with the group receiving 50 mg/kg of ethanol extract and the group receiving 50 mg/kg of aqueous extract presenting 64.42% and 57.69% reductions, respectively, in the blood glucose levels when compared with the diabetic control group, on day 21 (p > 0.05). Isoscutellarein-8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (IG) was identified from the ethanol extract, which showed a strong inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase, with a ten times higher potency compared with the positive control acarbose. The anti-hyperglycemic effect of IG was effectively similar to the standard drug, glibenclamide, at the same dose of 10 mg/kg (p > 0.05). These results indicated that A. bracteosum has a great antidiabetic potential.
Keywords: STZ; anti-diabetic; extract; isolated compound; α-glucosidase inhibition.