High-Resolution α-Glucosidase Inhibition Profiling Combined with HPLC-HRMS-SPE-NMR for Identification of Antidiabetic Compounds in Eremanthus crotonoides (Asteraceae).

α-Glucosidase inhibitors decrease the cleavage- and absorption rate of monosaccharides from complex dietary carbohydrates, and represent therefore an important class of drugs for management of type 2 diabetes. In this study, a defatted ethyl acetate extract of Eremanthus crotonoides leaves with an inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 34.5 µg/mL towards α-glucosidase was investigated by high-resolution α-glucosidase inhibition profiling combined with HPLC-HRMS-SPE-NMR. This led to identification of six α-glucosidase inhibitors, namely quercetin (16), trans-tiliroside (17), luteolin (19), quercetin-3-methyl ether (20), 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid n-butyl ester (26) and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid n-butyl ester (29). In addition, nineteen other metabolites were identified. The most active compounds were the two regioisomeric di-O-caffeoylquinic acid derivatives 26 and 29, with IC50 values of 5.93 and 5.20 µM, respectively. This is the first report of the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of compounds 20, 26, and 29, and the findings support the important role of Eremanthus species as novel sources of new drugs and/or herbal remedies for treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Hypericum brasiliense plant extract neutralizes some biological effects of Bothrops jararaca snake venom.

Alternative treatments for snake bite are currently being extensively studied, and plant metabolites are considered good candidates for such purpose. Here, the ability of a crude ethanolic extract of Hypericum brasiliense plant in neutralizing Bothrops jararaca snake venom was investigated by in vitro (coagulation, hemolysis or proteolysis) and in vivo (hemorrhage, lethality and edema) biological assays. We describe for the first time the ability of H. brasiliense extracts to inhibit some pharmacological effects of a Brazilian snake venom. Inhibitory assays were performed by incubating B. jararaca venom with H. brasiliense extracts for 30min at room temperature before the assays were performed. The results showed that H. brasiliense extracts impaired lethality, edema, hemorrhage, hemolysis, proteolysis as well as fibrinogen or plasma clotting induced by B. jararaca venom. This indicates that H. brasiliense extracts can provide promising agents to treat B. jararaca envenomation.