Phytochemical Composition and In vitro Anti- Hyperglycemic Potency of Eucalyptus tereticornis Bark

Eucalyptus tereticornis bark was screened for its anti-hyperglycemic potential by using In vitro assays viz. α-amylase, α-glycosidase and glucose adsorption. Dried powder of bark was used in glucose adsorption and alpha amylase assay, where as the water extract of the bark was used to study the inhibition of enteric enzymes (α-amylase, sucrose and α-glycosidase). The bark powder showed dose dependent amylase inhibition upto 3% sample concentration and further increase in concentration did not result in further inhibition, where as the water extract of the bark showed potent inhibition with IC50 value of 67.8 μg/mL. There was no notable activity observed in case of alpha-glycosidase assay. The enzyme sucrase was inhibited (35%) at 200 μg/ml extract concentration, with no further increases at higher concentrations. The bark powder showed glucose adsorption value of 1.32 mM at 10 mM glucose concentration and the adsorption increased with increase in the sample and glucose concentration. Characterization by HPLC indicated the presence of bergenin, caffiec acid, cinnamic acid and kaempferol in the aqueous extract of bark. Overall, assays partly indicate the anti-hyperglycemic potency of the bark powder which may be mediated through the inhibition of enteric enzymes. Further investigations are needed to validate this observation.