Antioxidant and starch hydrolase inhibitory properties of extracts of the antidiabetic herb Pterocarpus marsupium

Pterocarpus marsupium is a popular spice incorporated into culinary preparations around the world, which is also used for its antidiabetic treatment in traditional medicine. The objective of the study was to evaluate the antioxidant and starch hydrolase inhibitory properties of Pterocarpus marsupium leaves. The total antioxidant capacity, total phenolics content, starch hydrolase inhibitory activities and superoxide dismutase mimetic (SODm) activity of various leaf extracts of Pterocarpus marsupium were studied. Extracts of dichloromethane (DCM), ethanol (EtOH), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), hexane (HEX), methanol (MeOH) and water were compared. The total phenolics contents of the extracts decreased in the order of water > EtOH > EtOAc > MeOH > DCM > HEX. The antioxidant and SODm activity values of the extracts decreased in the same order as the total phenolics contents, while the DPPH EC50 values increased in the reverse order. Pterosupin and pterostilbene had the highest content out of all the phenolic compoun...