inhibitory effect of capparis spinosa extract on pancreatic alpha-amylase activity

Background: diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood glucose level caused due to deficiency of insulin secretion or insulin function. the inhibition of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes such as α-amylase can be an important strategy for decrease postprandial blood glucose level in patients with type ii diabetes. plants contains different chemical constituents with potential for inhibition of -amylase and hence maybe used as therapeutic. objectives: the aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of the ethanolic extract of capparis spinosa on pancreatic α-amylase activities to find out the relevance of the plant in controlling blood sugar. materials and methods: in this experimental study, root and leaves of c. spinosa were tested for α-amylase inhibition. different concentrations (1.56, 3.12, 6.25, 12.5 and 25 mg/ml) of extracts were incubated with enzyme substrate solution and the spectrometric method used for measure enzyme activity. also acarbose was used as the standard inhibitor. results: both root and leaves extracts showed inhibition of -amylase (root=97.31% and leaves=98.92%). the root and leaves extracts of c. spinosa exhibited appreciable -amylase inhibitory activity with an ic50 values 5.93 mg/ml and 3.89 mg/ml respectively, when compared with acarbose (ic50 value 0.038 mg/ml). conclusions: this study supports that root and leaves extracts of c. spinosa exhibit considerable -amylase inhibitory activities. these results could be useful for developing functional foods by combination of plant-based foods for treatment of diabetes mellitus.