Antioxidant and α-Glucosidase inhibitory activity of various solvent fractions from Amaranthus viridis L., Amaranthus tricolor L., and Amaranthus spinosus L.

Abstract

Amaranthus tricolor L., Amaranthus spinosus L., and Amaranthus viridis L. are well-known for flavoring food products and traditional medicine. This study investigated the antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of various solvent fractions from the whole plant of A. tricolor, A. spinosus, and A. viridis in Vietnam. The total extract and solvent fractions of petroleum ether (PE), chloroform (CF), ethyl acetate (EA), n-butanol (B), and water (W) were tested for antioxidant activity using the DPPH assay and α-glucosidase inhibition. The results showed that the three species of Amaranthus had relatively low antioxidant activity, and the total extract of A. spinosus L. had the highest antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 324.96 μg/mL. The EA fraction of A. tricolor had outstanding α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 95.94 μg/mL. It is recommended to continue isolation research to find active ingredients with α-glucosidase inhibition potential in the EA extract of A. tricolor. Additionally, an in vivo assay might be conducted to evaluate the activity and toxicity of this EA fraction.