Potential Anti-obesity Effects of some Medicinal Herb: In vitro α-Amylase, α-Glucosidase and Lipase Inhibitory Activity

In this study, in vitro inhibitory activity of methanolic and chloroform extracts of some medicinal plants including C. wightii, T. ammi, N. sativa, C. arabica, L. usitatissimum, C. cyminum, and R. Graveolens was evaluated toward α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and lipase comparing with acarbose and orlistat as the standard inhibitors. Our results revealed that both methanolic and chloroform extracts of C.wightii depicted high activity toward α-glucosidase (IC50s = 100.2 and 110.3 µg/mL, respectively) while methanolic and chloroform extracts of R.graveolens as well as chloroform extract of C.arabica showed good to moderate inhibitory activity (IC50s = 281.0, 460.5, and 280.0 µg/mL, respectively). Among the evaluated extracts, methanolic extract of R.graveolens and chloroform extract of C.arabica were found to be potent inhibitors toward α-amylase (IC50s = 215.0 and 180.0 µg/mL, respectively). However, moderate activity was obtained by methanolic and chloroform extracts of C. wightii and chloroform extract of R.graveolens (IC50 = 273.5, 358.5, and 479.0 µg/mL). It should be noted that all extracts demonstrated no significant inhibitory activity against lipase.