Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency in insulin secretion/function, characterized by increased glucose levels in the blood. Inhibiting major carbohydrate‐hydrolyzing enzymes, such as α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase, either in saliva or in the digestive tract, could be an important strategy for controlling high blood glucose levels in DM patients. The need to explore medicinal plants has grown significantly to address the complications of DM, and their secondary metabolites hold great promise for improving health. This study investigates the in vitro antioxidants, in vitro enzyme inhibition, and in silico analysis, and a quantitative assessment of phenolics and flavonoids was determined on the root extract of Potentilla fulgens. The DPPH antioxidant assay was found to be prominent in the methanolic root extract of P. fulgens with an IC 50 value of 34.35 ± 0.56 μg/mL, whereas standard quercetin was 6.3 ± 1.00 μg/mL. Natural antioxidants may help reduce oxidative stress and manage diabetes by inhibiting carbohydrate‐hydrolyzing enzymes. The crude methanolic extract showed the inhibitory activity against α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase with IC 50 values of 110.77 ± 4.45 and 62.99 ± 0.45 μg/mL, respectively. However, the n‐hexane fraction showed the highest inhibitory activity against α‐amylase with an IC 50 value of 104.75 ± 3.20 μg/mL. The n‐hexane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous fractions of P. fulgens showed the inhibitory activity against α‐glucosidase with IC 50 values of 25.67 ± 1.71, 142.03 ± 9.60, and 243.50 ± 6.79 μg/mL, respectively. The in silico study demonstrated inhibitory potential of the active compounds against human salivary and pancreatic enzymes (α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase), which was consistent with the in vitro inhibition of diabetic enzymes observed for the plant extract. Docking analysis revealed that rutin, apigenin 7‐O‐β‐D‐glucuronide, scutellarin, linolenic acid, oleic acid, and cynaroside exhibited lower binding energies, indicating a higher affinity for the 1B2Y, 1SMD, and 3BLP enzymes. This study provides scientific support for the traditional use of Potentilla fulgens in DM treatment and contributes to the growing repository of enzyme inhibitory agents through in vitro and in silico analyses.
Poudel et al. (Thu,) studied this question.