In vitro hypoglycemic and antimicrobial activity of cucumis callosus (ROTTL.) cogn. fruit

Abstract

Objective: This research investigated in vitro hypoglycemic and antimicrobial activity of methanolic fruit extract of Cucumis callosus (MECC) (Rottl.) cogn. Methods: The in vitro antidiabetic ability of MECC was evaluated by inhibition studies of the digestive enzymes including α-amylase and α-glycosidase. The antimicrobial activity of extract was further evaluated against 21 laboratory strains belongs to 8 bacterial species and 4 fungal species using cupplate agar diffusion assay and agar dilution assay. Results: Our assay result suggested that the MECC exhibited dose-dependent increase in percentage inhibitory activity on α-glycosidase (IC50 405.37 µg/ml) and α-amylase enzymes (IC50 721.55 µg/ml). The results of antimicrobial activity also showed that the extract inhibited the growth of 13 strains of 7 bacterial species and all fungal species. Conclusion: The observed inhibitions of α-amylase and α-glycosidase and inhibition of some microbial species suggested that the MECC may be useful in the management of diabetes mellitus and treatment of some infectious diseases.