Inhibition of advanced glycation end-products formation and antioxidant properties of Ficus deltoidea var. intermedia

Increased protein glycation and build-up of tissue advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) have been implicated in diabetic complications. By inhibiting the formation of AGEs would certainly prevent the occurrence of diabetic complications. Compounds with combined antiglycation and antioxidant properties may offer thereapeutic potential and possibly help on minimizing the complications of diabetes. The present study was performed to evaluate the in vitro antiglycation activity of Ficus deltoidea var. intermedia using fructose as a reducing sugar. The antiglycation activity was analyzed based on the inhibition of AGEs formation (24 hours, 14 and 28 days), the level of fructosamine, level of thiol group and inhibition of protein carbonyl. The antioxidant activity was measured using total phenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing power assay. The plant extract was incubated with BSA and fructose for 24 hours at 60 °C and the IC₅₀value of theinhibition of AGEs formation was found at 1.708 ± 0.06 mg/ml. During 4 weeks of study, Ficus deltoidea var. intermedia extract (78.1 – 5000 µg/ml) significantly inhibited the formation of fluorescence AGEs. The plant extract also decreased the level of fructosamine, the thiol group and inhibited the formation of protein carbonyl. This promising antiglycation activity may be attributed by the amount of phenolic compounds presence in the extract showed 188.58 ± 9.36 mg GAE/g of extract. Meanwhile, for DPPH assay, the extract showed IC₅₀ value at 78.96 ± 6.25 mg/ml and ferric reducing power measured at 700nm depicted 0.453 ± 0.04 (p < 0.05) compared to ascorbic acid. This study suggested that Ficus deltoidea var. intermedia have the ability to inhibit the formation of AGEs, decrease oxidative stress and may have the potential to be developed as new therapeutic agents to prevent the pathogenesis of diabetic complications.