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Screening of African traditional vegetables for their
alpha-amylase inhibitory effect
Bharti Odhav1*, Thangaraj Kandasamy1, 2,
Nonhlanhla Khumalo1 and Himansu Baijnath1
1Department of Biotechnology
and Food Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban
4000, South Africa.
2Centre for Plant Breeding
and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
– 641 003, India.
*Corresponding author.
E-mail: odhavb@dut.ac.za. Tel: +27-31-3735330.
Fax:
+27-31-3735351.
Accepted 6 July, 2010 |
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Diabetes is a syndrome of disordered
metabolism resulting in abnormally high blood sugar levels
(hyperglycemia). The one possibility of lowering postprandial glucose
levels is by the inhibition of α-amylase activity. In this study,
aqueous extracts from leaves, fruits and flowers, stems and roots of
twenty African traditional vegetable plants were tested for their
inhibitory effect on α-amylase. The results showed that leaves of
Centella asiatica (3 and 5 mg/ml) and Ceratotheca triloba (5
mg/ml), roots of Cleome monophylla (5 mg/ml), fruits and flowers
of Amaranthus hybridus (3 mg/ml), Justicia flava (3 mg/ml)
and Chenopodium album (3 mg/ml), stem parts of J. flava
(3 mg/ml), Portulaca oleracea (3 mg/ml) and Cleome
monophylla (3 mg/ml) showed significant (more than 70%) reduction in
α-amylase activity. Though results from this study showed significant
α-amylase inhibition at higher concentrations (3 and 5 mg/ml),
traditionally used anti-diabetic medicinal plants are found to have
α-amylase inhibition at very low concentrations, mostly less than 1
mg/ml. These traditional plant species regularly consumed as vegetables
by rural people, will not only give dietary nutritional benefits, but
also play vital role in inhibiting α-amylase activity, thereby reducing
the blood glucose level and benefiting diabetic patients.
Key words:
African leafy vegetables, anti-diabetic, α-amylase, inhibitory effects. |
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