In Vitro Antimitotic and Hypoglycemic Effect Study and Acute Toxicity Assessment of the Aqueous and Organic Extracts of Chamaerops humilis L. var. argentea Andre

Abstract

Background. Chamaerops humilis L. var. argentea Andre is a plant widely spread in the region of Taza (North-East of Morocco); it is used in traditional phytotherapy against cancer, diabetes, inflammations, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and for the treatment of digestive disorders. Objective and Methods. The objective of our work is to contribute firstly, to the study of the in vitro antimitotic potential by the phytotest of Lepidium sativum and the evaluation of the in vitro antidiabetic activity of three enzymes (α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and β-galactosidase) on nine aqueous and organic extracts prepared from the leaves of Chamaerops humilis. In addition, a correlation study was carried out on the chemical composition and the antimitotic and antidiabetic activities of Chamaerops humilis leaves. Then, we tested the acute toxicity of the decocted extract and the ethanolic extract. Results. The results of the antimitotic activity showed that the decocted extract showed a higher inhibitory activity than the other aqueous extracts ( $\text{I}{\text{C}}_{50}=9.624\times {10}^3\pm 95.97$  μg/mL); for the organic extracts, the ethanolic extract and ethanolic macerated expressed the highest values for the cell growth inhibition test with an IC50 of $5.638\times {10}^3\pm 22.61$ and $5.599\times {10}^3\pm 45.51$  μg/mL with statistically nonsignificant difference. Regarding the antidiabetic activity, the decocted showed a higher inhibitory activity than the other aqueous extracts for α-amylase ( $\text{I}{\text{C}}_{50}=1.781·{10}^5\pm 358.30$  μg/mL), α-glucosidase ( $2.540\times {10}^2\pm 3.14$  μg/mL), and β-galactosidase ( $7.118\times {10}^2\pm 16.13$  μg/mL); the ethanolic extract also revealed the highest inhibitory activity for α-amylase ( $\text{I}{\text{C}}_{50}=8.902\times {10}^3\pm 57.81$  μg/mL), α-glucosidase ( $2.216\times {10}^2\pm 1.39$  μg/mL), and β-galactosidase ( $2.003\times {10}^2\pm 7.41$  μg/mL). A strong correlation was recorded between the antimitic activity and the inhibitory capacity of β-galactosidase and between these two activities and the chemical composition of Chamaerops humilis leaves. The acute toxicity study showed that the decocted and the ethanolic extract are weakly toxic with an LD50 greater than or equal to 5000 mg/kg. Conclusion. Chamaerops humilis could become a good source in traditional herbal medicine.