The best described pharmacological property of flavonoids is their capacity to act as potent antioxidant that has been reported to play an important role in the alleviation of diabetes mellitus. Flavonoids biochemical properties are structure dependent; however, they are yet to be thoroughly understood. Hence, the main aim of this work was to investigate the antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of some structurally related flavonoids to identify key positions responsible, their correlation, and the effect of methylation and acetylation on the same properties. Antioxidant potential was evaluated through dot blot, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, ABTS+ radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and xanthine oxidase inhibitory (XOI) assays. Antidiabetic effect was investigated through α-glucosidase and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) assays. Results showed that the total number and the configuration of hydroxyl groups played an important role in regulating antioxidant and antidiabetic properties in scavenging DPPH radical, ABTS+ radical, and FRAP assays and improved both α-glucosidase and DPP-4 activities. Presence of C-2-C-3 double bond and C-4 ketonic group are two essential structural features in the bioactivity of flavonoids especially for antidiabetic property. Methylation and acetylation of hydroxyl groups were found to diminish the in vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of the flavonoids.

Background: Clinacanthus nutans (C. nutans) is an Acanthaceae herbal shrub traditionally consumed to treat various diseases including diabetes in Malaysia. This study was designed to evaluate the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of C. nutans leaves extracts, and to identify the metabolites responsible for the bioactivity. Methods: Crude extract obtained from the dried leaves using 80% methanolic solution was further partitioned using different polarity solvents. The resultant extracts were investigated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory potential followed by metabolites profiling using the gas chromatography tandem with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results: Multivariate data analysis was developed by correlating the bioactivity, and GC-MS data generated a suitable partial least square (PLS) model resulting in 11 bioactive compounds, namely, palmitic acid, phytol, hexadecanoic acid (methyl ester), 1-monopalmitin, stigmast-5-ene, pentadecanoic acid, heptadecanoic acid, 1-linolenoylglycerol, glycerol monostearate, alpha-tocospiro B, and stigmasterol. In-silico study via molecular docking was carried out using the crystal structure Saccharomyces cerevisiae isomaltase (PDB code: 3A4A). Interactions between the inhibitors and the protein were predicted involving residues, namely LYS156, THR310, PRO312, LEU313, GLU411, and ASN415 with hydrogen bond, while PHE314 and ARG315 with hydrophobic bonding. Conclusion: The study provides informative data on the potential α-glucosidase inhibitors identified in C. nutans leaves, indicating the plant’s therapeutic effect to manage hyperglycemia.

The present study used in vitro and in silico techniques, as well as the metabolomics approach to characterise α-glucosidase inhibitors from different fractions of Clinacanthus nutans. C. nutans is a medicinal plant belonging to the Acanthaceae family, and is traditionally used to treat diabetes in Malaysia. n- Hexane, n- hexane: ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v), ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate: methanol (1:1, v/v), and methanol fractions were obtained via partitioning of the 80% methanolic crude extract. The in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity was analyzed using all the fractions collected, followed by profiling of the metabolites using liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. The partial least square (PLS) statistical model was developed using the SIMCA P + 14.0 software and the following four inhibitors were obtained: (1) 4,6,8-Megastigmatrien-3-one; (2) N-Isobutyl-2-nonen-6,8-diynamide; (3) 1′,2′-bis(acetyloxy)-3′,4′-didehydro-2′-hydro-β, ψ-carotene; and (4) 22-acetate-3-hydroxy-21-(6-methyl-2,4-octadienoate)-olean-12-en-28-oic acid. The in silico study performed via molecular docking with the crystal structure of yeast isomaltase (PDB code: 3A4A ) involved a hydrogen bond and some hydrophobic interactions between the inhibitors and protein. The residues that interacted include ASN259, HID295, LYS156, ARG335, and GLY209 with a hydrogen bond, while TRP15, TYR158, VAL232, HIE280, ALA292, PRO312, LEU313, VAL313, PHE314, ARG315, TYR316, VAL319, and TRP343 with other forms of bonding.

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The authentication of food products is essential for food quality and safety. Authenticity assessments are important to ensure that the ingredients or contents of food products are legitimate and safe to consume. The metabolomics approach is an essential technique that can be utilized for authentication purposes. This study aimed to summarize food authentication through the metabolomics approach, to study the existing analytical methods, instruments, and statistical methods applied in food authentication, and to review some selected food commodities authenticated using metabolomics-based methods. Various databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, etc., were used to obtain previous research works relevant to the objectives. The review highlights the role of the metabolomics approach in food authenticity. The approach is technically implemented to ensure consumer protection through the strict inspection and enforcement of food labeling. Studies have shown that the study of metabolomics can ultimately detect adulterant(s) or ingredients that are added deliberately, thus compromising the authenticity or quality of food products. Overall, this review will provide information on the usefulness of metabolomics and the techniques associated with it in successful food authentication processes, which is currently a gap in research that can be further explored and improved.

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Globally, village chicken is popular and is known as a premium meat with a higher price. Food fraud can occur by selling other chicken breeds at a premium price in local markets. This study aimed to distinguish local village chicken from other chicken breeds available in the market, namely, colored broiler (Hubbard), broiler (Cobb), and spent laying hen (Dekalb) in pectoralis major and serum under commercial conditions using an untargeted metabolomics approach. Both pectoralis major and serum were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The principal component analysis (PCA) results distinguished four different chicken breeds into three main groups for pectoralis major and serum. A total of 30 and 40 characteristic metabolites were identified for pectoralis major and serum, respectively. The four chicken breeds were characterized by the abundance of metabolites such as amino acids (L−glutamic acid, L−threonine, L−serine, L−leucine), organic acids (L−lactic acid, succinic acid, 3−hydroxybutyric acid), sugars (D−allose, D−glucose), sugar alcohols (myo−inositol), and fatty acids (linoleic acid). Our results suggest that an untargeted metabolomics approach using GC–MS and PCA could discriminate chicken breeds for pectoralis major and serum under commercial conditions. In this study, village chicken could only be distinguished from colored broiler (Hubbard) by serum samples.

Ficus is one of the largest genera in the plant kingdom that belongs to the Moraceae family. This review aimed to summarize the medicinal uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological actions of two major species from this genus, namely Ficus benghalensis and Ficus religiosa. These species can be found abundantly in most Asian countries, including Malaysia. The chemical analysis report has shown that Ficus species contained a wide range of phytoconstituents, including phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, glycosides, sugar, protein, essential and volatile oils, and steroids. Existing studies on the pharmacological functions have revealed that the observed Ficus species possessed a broad range of biological properties, including antioxidants, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antitumor and antiproliferative, antimutagenic, antimicrobial, anti-helminthic, hepatoprotective, wound healing, anticoagulant, immunomodulatory activities, antistress, toxicity studies, and mosquitocidal effects. Apart from the plant parts and their extracts, the endophytes residing in these host plants were discussed as well. This study also includes the recent applications of the Ficus species and their plant parts, mainly in the nanotechnology field. Various search engines and databases were used to obtain the scientific findings, including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PMC, Research Gate, and Scopus. Overall, the review discusses the therapeutic potentials discovered in recent times and highlights the research gaps for prospective research work.