Antidiabetic Activity ofRuellia tuberosaL., Role ofα-Amylase Inhibitor:In Silico,In Vitro, andIn VivoApproaches

Abstract

Ruellia tuberosaL. is a folk remedy in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. However, its hypoglycemic activity has not been investigated so far. In the present study, the antidiabetic mechanism of the n-hexane fraction of methanolic extract (HFME) of this plant was investigatedin silico,in vitro, andin vivo.In silicostudy was performed using AutoDock4.2 software.In vitro  α-amylase inhibitory activity was investigated by starch-iodine method. A single dose of 450 mg/kg HFME for 14 days was subjected to an antidiabetic screeningin vivoby a multiple low dose streptozotocin (MLD-STZ) induced rats. Molecular modeling results show that Betulin exhibited noncompetitiveα-amylase inhibitory activities. The effect of HFME elicited significant reductions of diabetic rat blood glucose. A single dose administration of HFME inhibitedα-amylase activityin vivo(P<0.01) compared to a diabetic control group. Moreover, this extract strongly inhibited theα-amylase activityin vitro(IC500.14 ± 0.005 mg/mL). It is concluded that HFME exerted an antidiabetic effect viaα-amylase inhibitor. Our findings provide a possible hypoglycemic action ofR. tuberosaL. as an alternative therapy in the management of diabetes.