Potential Hypoglycemic Secondary Metabolites from Argyreia nervosa (Burm. f.) Bojer Influencing Human Gut Health ^†

In the last few decades, natural products from plants have developed immense importance in human health due to their therapeutic multi-functionality. They have also been reported to enhance human gut health, which is another important factor in overall human health. Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (DM 2) is now a global concern with 6.28% of the world’s population affected by it. Many hypoglycemic drugs currently available in the market are either directly or indirectly based on a number of plant secondary metabolites. In the current study, we aimed to find out the hypoglycemic secondary metabolites from a leaf methanolic extract of Argyreia nervosa (Burm. f.) Bojer (Family: Convolvulaceae). In the in vitro experiment, this extract showed good inhibitory activity against Porcine Pancreatic Alpha-amylase (PPA) with IC₅₀ value of 1.1 mg/mL. The presence of Quercetin and Ursolic acid was identified in the leaf methanolic extract using HPTLC, HPLC, and MS analysis. The calculated IC₅₀ values against PPA, for standard Quercetin and Ursolic acid, were 16.5 µg/mL and 13.2 µg/mL, respectively. The in silico studies used both of these compounds as ligands against PPA (PDB ID: 1OSE) in AutoDock 4.2.6. Significant binding energies of −9.89 kcal/mol and −8.96 kcal/mol were seen for Quercetin and Ursolic acid, respectively, while Acarbose (the drug used as the positive control) had a binding energy of −12.48 kcal/mol. Both Quercetin and Ursolic acid strongly interacted with the pivotal amino acid residues such asGlu233, Asp197, and Asp300, which are present at the active site of PPA, thus upholding our in vitro experimental results. Both the compounds have exhibited beneficial effects on human gut health in DM 2 and related complications. The docking results of them with a few intestinal markers that are significant in gut health will also be discussed.