Evaluation of Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant and anti-Diabetic Activities of Mitragyna speciosa Methanolic Extract (MSME)

Abstract

Introduction: The therapeutic potential of plant-based or herbal medicine has been widely embraced by the public as a prevention and remedy for many illnesses. Mitragyna speciosa is one of the medicinal plant that exhibit the opioid-like effects of analgesia. This study aimed to evaluate the phytochemical content, antioxidant activity, and alpha-amylase enzyme inhibition of Mitragyna speciosa methanolic extract (MSME). Methods: The phytochemical composition of MSME was analyzed for secondary metabolites using UHPLC-TWIMS-QTOF-MS/MS. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant scavenging activities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl [DPPH] and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) [ABTS] assays) and α-amylase enzyme inhibition activities of MSME were analyzed in comparison to positive control Pterostilbene and acarbose, respectively. Results: Analysis of UHPLC-TWIMS-QTOF-MS/MS has characterized the presence of at least five different bioactive compounds, mostly derivatives of flavonoids and polyphenols. A significantly higher level of TFC (347.72±15.97 mg QE/g extract; p = 0.0005), but a significantly lower level of TPC (167.43±13.50 mg GAE/g extract; p = 0.002) was detected in MSME (1 mg/mL) compared to Pterostilbene. MSME presented antioxidant activity which has no significant difference compared to Pterostilbene as determined by DPPH (MSME IC50 = 4.34±1.79 µg/mL; p = 0.727) and ABTS (MSME IC50 = 4.25±1.59 µg/mL; p = 0.311) assays. Moreover, MSME also exhibited anti-diabetic effects through inhibition of α-amylase activity (IC50 = 0.01±7.18 mg/mL) which shows a significant difference (p = 0.009) compared to acarbose. Conclusion: This finding suggests that MSME has bioactive phytochemicals and exhibits potential antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties.

Isolation of Phytochemical and Pharmacological Bioactive Compounds From Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.): A Scoping Review

“…In the present study, out of 14 research included in this review that reported bioactive compounds found in M. speciosa, 11 employed methanol as a solvent in the extraction process while the rest used other solvents including ethanol, water, and mix-solvent. Among 11 methanol users, 7 studies used methanol mainly in the study (7,21,25,26,28,29,32), whereas the other 4 research groups used methanol in comparison with other solvents such as ethanol and water (6,22,23,30). Furthermore, in the comparison of solvent studies, it was found that methanolic extract produced the highest concentration of mitragynine (15.7%) and 7-Hydroxymitragynine (5.3%), while the methanolic extract using the meseration method had the highest total phenolic content (TPC) 105.58 ± 15.43 mg GAE/g and total flavonoid content (TFC) 91.12 ± 17.27 mg CE/g (7,22,23,30).…”

“…Methanol was found to be the most common solvent used in the extraction of secondary metabolites from M. speciosa. Out of 11 studies that used methanol, two studies practiced Soxhlet (7,25), three studies with maceration alone (26,28,32), one study with combination of maceration and sonication (21), one study with sonication alone (29), and three studies with modern methods such as UAE, MAE, Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) and/or Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) (6,22,30).…”

“…Finally, 41 articles that complied with the requirement of inclusion criteria were retained for this scoping review. Out of the 41 articles screened, 14 articles were focused on the identification of bioactive compounds in the M. speciosa extract (6,7,(29)(30)(31)(32)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28), while 27 articles were focused on the pharmacological properties (3,6,(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)7,45,21,23,24,26,28,33,34).…”

“…Traditionally, the leaves are consumed in the form of juice, tea, capsules, and smoked or chewed to relieve pain, opiate withdrawal, and combat tiredness (5). Putative pharmacological effects attributed to this plant such as antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and other biological activities (6,7).…”

“…The pharmacological properties of M. speciosa could be ascribed to the presence of secondary bioactive metabolites, such as flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, triterpenoids, and glycosides (6,7). Isolation of the secondary metabolites from herbal plants is primarily influenced by the technique and the type of solvent used during the extraction process to retain the quality of the compounds (8,9).…”