Inhibition of Key Enzymes Linked to Obesity and Cytotoxic Activities of Whole Plant Extracts of Vernonia mesplilfolia Less
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Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Cnr Christiaan de Wet and Pioneer Ave, Private Bag X6, Florida 1710, South Africa
2
Department of Botany, Medicinal Plants and Economic Development (MPED) Research Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
J.O. Unuofin, Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Cnr Christiaan de Wet and Pioneer Ave, Private Bag X6, Florida, 1710, South Africa.
Processes 2019, 7(11), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7110841
Received: 21 September 2019 / Revised: 18 October 2019 / Accepted: 25 October 2019 / Published: 10 November 2019
(This article belongs to the Section Biological Systems)
The whole plant of Vernonia mespilifolia is widely used as a traditional remedy for obesity in South Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-obesity and cytotoxic effects of Vernonia mespilifolia extracts in vitro. The α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and lipase inhibitory activities of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Vernonia mespilifolia were investigated, while the cytotoxic effects of these extracts were analyzed using Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide (PI) dual staining on a human cervical HeLa cell line. The results showed that the LC50 (the concentration of a material will kill 50% of test organisms) values of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Vernonia mespilifolia were >200 and 149 µg/mL, respectively, to HeLa cells. Additionally, the ethanol extract exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect on the pancreatic lipase (Half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) = 331.16 µg/mL) and on α-amylase (IC50 = 781.72 µg/mL), while the aqueous extract has the strongest α-glucosidase (IC50 = 450.88 µg/mL). Our results suggest that Vernonia mespilifolia’s acclaimed anti-obesity effects could be ascribed to its ability to inhibit both carbohydrate and fat digesting enzymes.
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Keywords:
Vernonia mespilifolia; α-amylase; α-glucosidase; lipase; HeLa; Hoechst 33342/PI staining
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MDPI and ACS Style
Unuofin, J.O.; Otunola, G.A.; Afolayan, A.J. Inhibition of Key Enzymes Linked to Obesity and Cytotoxic Activities of Whole Plant Extracts of Vernonia mesplilfolia Less. Processes 2019, 7, 841.
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