In vitro and in silico analysis of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) mesocarp powder as pancreatic lipase and α-amylase inhibitor

Abstract

Obesity remains a national and global problem because its prevalence still increases, leading to various dangerous degenerative diseases. One way to tackle obesity is by taking drugs that can reduce fat and carbohydrate intake, such as orlistat and acarbose. However, both of these drugs have unwanted side effects, so a safer exploration of anti-obesity herbal is still needed to replace them. Previous studies have shown that ethanol extracts of cucumber mesocarp can inhibit pancreatic lipase. In this study, the hot water extract of cucumber mesocarp powder was tested as a pancreatic lipase inhibitor in vitro and an α-amylase inhibitor in silico. The results show that cucumber mesocarp powder has been successfully produced by freeze-drying method; TPC and TFC value of brewed cucumber mesocarp powder are 0.0218 % and 0.0278 %, respectively. At the same mass of powder, brewed cucumber mesocarp powder has inhibition power against pancreatic lipase 3.44 times higher than orlistat. In comparison, in silico test result shows that pinocembrin and cucurbitacin A contained in cucumber able to bind to the active site of the α-amylase enzyme, so the cucumber mesocarp powder has great potential as anti-obesity agents.