Main Bioactive Components and their Biological Activities from Natural and Processed Rhizomes of Anemarrhena asphodeloides

The rhizome of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge is a famous and frequently used herbal drug in the traditional medicine of Asia, under the vernacular name “zhimu”. It has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anti- platelet aggregation, anti-depressant and anti-diabetic effects. We examined the antioxidant and anti-α- glucosidase activities of various solvent extracts and the main bioactive compounds from the rhizome of A. asphodeloides. The acetone extract exhibited comparatively high antioxidant activities measured by 2,2- diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazo-line-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. A water extract exhibited relatively strong antioxidant activity measured by superoxide radical scavenging test. Furthermore, dichloromethane, chloroform and n-hexane extracts showed significant anti-α-glucosidase activities. HPLC analysis was used to examine and compare various solvent extracts for their compositions of isolates. We isolated four major chemical constituents and analysed their antioxidant and anti-α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. The bioactivity assays showed that mangiferin displayed the most potential antioxidant activities via FRAP, ABTS, DPPH and superoxide assays and also exhibited the most effective anti-α-glucosidase activities among all the isolates. The present study suggests that A. asphodeloides and its active extracts and components are worth further investigation and might be expected to develop as a candidate drug for the treatment or prevention of oxidative stress-related diseases and hyperglycemia.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023