α-Glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities of Nepalese medicinal herb Pakhanbhed (Bergenia ciliata, Haw.)

Herbal medicine has been used for many years by different cultures around the world for the treatment of diabetes. The Nepalese herb Pakhanbhed, is one of the traditional remedies used for diabetes since prehistoric times. In this study, we examined the anti-diabetic activity using an in vitro model and isolated the active compounds from Pakhanbhed. Extraction and fractionation of the extract lead to the isolation of two active compounds, (-)-3-O-galloylepicatechin and (-)-3-O-galloylcatechin and these are reported from this plant species for the first time. These isolated compounds demonstrated significant dose dependent enzyme inhibitory activities against rat intestinal alpha-glucosidase and porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase. IC50 value for sucrose, maltase and alpha-amylase were 560, 334 and 739 mu M, respectively for [(-)-3-O-galloylepicatechin] and 297, 150 and 401 mu M, respectively for [(-)-3-O-galloylcatechin]. Our study, for the first time, revealed the anti-diabetic potential of Pakhanbhed and this study could be helpful to develop medicinal preparations or nutraccutical and functional foods for diabetes and related symptoms. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.