Jatropha curcas L. and Mimosa pudica L. as Potential Sources of Xanthine Oxidase and α-Glucosidase Inhibitors
R. Abyado, and R. Broñola-Hipol (44-62)
Abstract
Medicinal plants have been of interest in discovering new xanthine oxidase inhibitors (XOIs) and α-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs) in recent years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the XOI and AGI capacities of Jatropha curcas L. and Mimosa pudica L. from Itogon and Mankayan, Benguet. The methanol crude extracts (M), ethyl acetate fractions (E), and n-hexane fractions (H) of J. curcas (JM, JE, JH) and M. pudica (MM, ME, MH) were used. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) direct bioautography detected the presence of XOIs in the fractions, and spectrophotometry evaluated the XOIs in the crude extracts and fractions. Samples were also subjected to an AGI assay. The fractions exhibited positive results, with yellow and white spots. MM (79.09 µg/ml and 74.35 µg/ml), ME (72.66 µg/ml and 69.90 µg/ml), and JE (82.03 µg/ml and 60.42 µg/ml) had the lowest XOI half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50). The positive control, allopurinol, had an IC50 of 8.68 µg/ml. M. pudica demonstrated better AGI than J. curcas. MH showed higher inhibition at 97.36 ± 1.23% and 98.33 ± 0.78%, for Itogon and Mankayan, respectively, than acarbose, at 92.58 ± 0.63%. Both plants may be used as sources of lead compounds beneficial for patients with gout, while M. pudica is a potential source of new antidiabetic compounds upon clinical trials. Further studies should be conducted to purify and identify the bioactive compounds.