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Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background/aim: Rubia species (Rubiaceae) are recognized as medicinal and industrial plants exhibiting diverse biological activities. This study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antiobesity potential of extracts prepared from Rubia davisiana Ehrend. (an endemic species), R. peregrina L., and R. rotundifolia Banks & Sol., which grow naturally in Türkiye.

Materials and methods: The antioxidant activity of 80% ethanol extracts prepared from the aerial parts was evaluated using 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays, ferric reducing power, metal chelating capacity, and total antioxidant capacity assays. Inhibition assays for α-glucosidase and α-amylase were performed to evaluate antidiabetic activity, whereas a pancreatic lipase inhibition assay was conducted to assess antiobesity activity. Additionally, the quantitative chemical composition of the extracts was determined using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC– MS/MS) analysis.

Results: The total phenolic content of the extracts ranged from 52.15 to 66.77 mg GAE/g extract. All extracts exhibited strong DPPH radical scavenging activity at concentrations of 1 and 2 mg/mL. ABTS radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing power increased in a concentration-dependent manner. Among the tested extracts, R. rotundifolia exhibited the highest total antioxidant capacity (147.35 mg ascorbic acid equivalent [AAE]/g extract). R. rotundifolia extract demonstrated stronger α-amylase inhibitory activity than the other extracts at all tested concentrations. At a concentration of 2 mg/mL, R. rotundifolia extract exhibited 74.70% inhibition of α-glucosidase activity. LC–MS/MS analysis revealed that the aerial parts of R. rotundifolia were rich in quinic acid and chlorogenic acid.

Conclusion: The antidiabetic and antiobesity activities of extracts obtained from all studied species were evaluated for the first time. In conclusion, the α-glucosidase inhibitory and antioxidant activities of the extract prepared from the aerial parts of R. rotundifolia were more pronounced. Further studies are warranted to investigate fractionation processes and bioactivity-guided isolation of active constituents.

Author ORCID Identifier

SEMİH BULUT: 0000-0002-4098-0221

AHMET KAHRAMAN: 0000-0002-9344-1993

AYŞENUR IŞIK: 0009-0007-4015-4521

MUSTAFA ABDULLAH YILMAZ: 0000-0002-4090-7227

DOI

10.55730/1300-0144.6374

Keywords

antioxidants, Diabetes mellitus, enzyme inhibitors, Rubia species

First Page

1296

Last Page

1307

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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