RESUMEN
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Herbal traditional medicine is used by millions of people in Africa for treatment of ailments such as diabetes mellitus, stomach disorders and respiratory diseases. Xeroderris stuhlmannii (Taub.) Mendonca & E.P. Sousa (X. stuhlmannii (Taub.)) is a medicinal plant used traditionally in Zimbabwe to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its complications. However, there is no scientific evidence to support its inhibitory effect against digestive enzymes (α-glucosidases) that are linked to high blood sugar in humans. AIM OF THE STUDY: This work aims to investigate whether bioactive phytochemicals of crude X. stuhlmannii (Taub.) can scavenge free radicals and inhibit α-glucosidases in order to reduce blood sugar in humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Here we examined the free radical scavenging potential of crude aqueous, ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts of X. stuhlmannii (Taub.) using the diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay in vitro. Furthermore, we carried out in vitro inhibition of α-glucosidases (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) by the crude extracts using chromogenic 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid and p-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside substrates. We also used molecular docking approaches (Autodock Vina) to screen for bioactive phytochemical compounds targeting the digestive enzymes. RESULTS: Our results showed that phytochemicals in X. stuhlmannii (Taub.) aqueous, ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts scavenged free radicals with IC50 values ranging from 0.002 to 0.013 µg/mL. Furthermore, crude aqueous, ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts significantly inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 10.5-29.5 µg/mL (versus 54.1 ± 0.7 µg/mL for acarbose) and 8.8-49.5 µg/mL (versus 161.4 ± 1.8 µg/mL for acarbose), respectively. In silico molecular docking findings and pharmacokinetic predictions showed that myricetin is likely a novel plant-derived α-glucosidase inhibitor. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our findings suggest pharmacological targeting of digestive enzymes by X. stuhlmannii (Taub.) crude extracts may reduce blood sugar in humans with T2DM via inhibition of α-glucosidases.