Antidiabetic Activity of Averrhoa bilimbi L. Fruit Extracts and the Identification of Active Compounds Using LC-MS and In silico Methods

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus patients are typically in need of drugs with minimal long-term side effects, leading to an increasing interest in herbal medicine sourced from medicinal plants. Among the available medicinal plants, the fruit of Averrhoa bilimbi L., commonly known as belimbing wuluh, has been recognized for its therapeutic potential and is often used as an alternative medicine for diabetes mellitus. Therefore, this study aims to determine antidiabetic activity of the active fraction of A. bilimbi L. fruit using in vitro and in silico methods and to determine the active compounds contained in the fruit fraction (A. bilimbi L.) based on Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (LC-MS). LC-MS analysis results showed the presence of 16 organic compounds in the n-hexane fraction, which had the highest IC50 (7.03 μg/mL) antidiabetic activity compared to the ethyl acetate (102.77 μg/mL) and n-butanol (181.65 μg/mL) fractions. In silico molecular docking, analysis was performed for all identified compounds to further support antidiabetic characteristics. Computational predictions showed that 2 A. bilimbi fruit compounds with the greatest RT value, namely 2,3,4,5,6-pentaphenylbenzazocine (-16.0 kcal/mol) and Thraustochytroside A (-6.2 kcal/mol), exhibited higher binding affinity values compared to miglitol (-5.4 kcal /mol). This showed that both compounds had the potential to be developed as α-glucosidase inhibitor alternatives for treating diabetic disorders.