Antidiabetic Activity of Methanolic Extract of Artabotrys suaveolens Leaves in 3T3-L1 Cell Line

Artabotrys suaveolens is an evergreen shrub that belongs to the Annonaceae family, traditionally known for its use in regulating menstruation and in treating cholera. Other medicinal properties of this shrub remain to be studied and validated. The current study was aimed to evaluate the anti-diabetic property of methanolic extract of Artabotrys suaveolens leaves in vitro using 3T3L1 cell line. Antidiabetic property of methanolic extract of A. suaveolens was evaluated in vitro by assaying for glucose uptake and the translocation of glucose transporter (GLUT4). The effect of A. suaveolens extract in inhibiting the activity of α-Glucosidase and, α-Amylase enzymes was also evaluated using colorimetric assays. The cytotoxic effect of the extract was determined using the MTT assay. A. suaveolens (AS) extract treatment enhanced glucose uptake in 77.39 % of the cells, and GLUT4 expression was found in 74.87 % of the cells treated with AS extract. The extract inhibited α-amylase activity by 70.29 % and α-glucosidase activity by 74.06%. MTT assay showed that, AS extract had no cytotoxic effect on 3T3-L1. Our results attribute a promising anti-diabetic property for the methanolic extract of A. suaveolens leaves. Further studies that elucidate the molecular mechanism behind the anti-diabetic property of the extract must be carried out to recommend this as a possible alternative treatment for diabetes.