Inhibitory Effects of Six Allium Species on ?-Amylase Enzyme Activity

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. The management of the blood glucose level is a critical strategy in the control of diabetes complications. Inhibitors of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes have been useful as oral hypoglycemic drugs for the control of hyperglycemia especially in patients with type II disables mellitus. The goal of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of six selected Allium species (A. akaka, A. ampeloprasum subsp. iranicum, A. cepa, A. hirtifolium, A. porrum and A. sativum) on ?-amylase enzyme using an in vitro model. According to the results, ethanol extracts of A. akaka, A. sativum, A. porrum and A. cepa were found to have a favorable ?-amylase inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 16.74, 17.95, 15.73 and 16.36 mg/ml, respectively and they did not reveal any significant differences in their IC50 values (p>0.05). However, the two other Allium species tested (A. ampeloprasum subsp. iranicum and A. hirtifolium) did not show valuable inhibitory activity.