Anti-diabetes mellitus potential of butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea L.) extract based on antioxidant and inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase activities

Type-2 diabetes (T2DM) is a condition that occurs when insulin production is insufficient. The prolonged process of imperfect insulin secretion results in hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress exacerbates diabetes complications. α-amylase and α-glucosidase also need to be inhibited to reduce blood glucose levels. So far, the available treatments for diabetes still cause side effects. On the other hand, the flowers of Clitoria ternatea L. are reported to have bioactivities such as antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antiproliferative, and anticancer. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the ability of C. ternatea flower extract (CFE) as an antidiabetic through its capacity as an antioxidant agent, as well as its ability to inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Antioxidant activity was measured using the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,22-Azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-reducing activity assays. Meanwhile, antidiabetic potential based on the ability to inhibit enzymes was carried out using α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory assays. CFE demonstrated the antioxidant scavenging capacity of ABTS, DPPH, and H₂O₂ in a dose-dependent manner, with IC₅₀ obtained of 65.70±0.01 µg/ml, 55.29±0.32 µg/ml, and 287.95±10.83 µg/ml, respectively. In addition, CFE also demonstrated its capacity to inhibit the enzymes α-amylase and α-glucosidase with IC₅₀ of 83.49 µg/ml and 39.77 µg/ml. CFE demonstrated the capacity of an antioxidant agent and was able to hinder the activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. This shows that CFE has potential as a medication for type 2 diabetes mellitus.