Study on α‐glucosidase inhibitory activity of isolated flavones from genus Artocarpus and their enzyme kinetics

Flavonoids are the major compounds associated with diverse bioactivities, especially with α‐glucosidase inhibitory activity related to diabetes mellitus. The study reported the α‐glucosidase inhibitory activity of seventeen flavonoids isolated from Artocarpus heterophyllus, Artocarpus rigida, and Artocarpus altilis. The results indicated that all flavones possessed an α‐glucosidase inhibitory effect, in which compounds 3, 5‐7, 9‐17 strongly inhibited α‐glucosidase enzyme with the IC50 value range from 1.5 to 6.4 μM. Based on their structure‐activity relationships, the prenylation patterns at the flavonoid skeleton gave significantly potent inhibitory abilities against α‐glucosidase. Further kinetics studies were conducted to determine the inhibition type of these prenylated flavones. This is the first time prenylflavones isolated from genus Artocarpus were reported on the α‐glucosidase inhibitory activity and its kinetics. The report suggested that prenylflavones are potential sources for diabetes mellitus treatment.