Investigation of Phytochemical Composition, Radical Scavenging Potential, Anti-Obesogenic Effects, and Anti-Diabetic Activities of Kaempferia parviflora Rhizomes

Kaempferia parviflora or commonly known as "Kunyit hitam" by locals, is an edible plant, native to tropical regions, has been extensively utilized for culinary and medicinal applications. The present study aimed to investigate the phytochemical composition and biological activities of the rhizomes of K. parviflora. The ethanol crude and fractionated extracts (hexane and chloroform) of the rhizomes were evaluated for their total phenolic content, total steroidal content, as well as antioxidant, anti-obesogenic, and anti-diabetic activities. The chloroform extract demonstrated the highest concentration of plant sterols (432±0.23 mg BSE/g extract) and a substantial amount of phenolic compounds (1.19×10 ±0.41 mg GAE/g extract). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed that the chloroform extract of the rhizomes is predominantly composed of bioactive flavonoids including tectochrysin (1), 5,7-dimethoxyflavone (2), 3,5,7-trimethoxyflavone (3), 3,4',5,7-tetramethoxyflavone (4), and 4',5,7-trimethoxyflavone (5). Furthermore, the chloroform extract exhibited the highest overall radical scavenging and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities, which can be attributed to the presence of compounds 1-5 in the extract. Collectively, these findings suggest that the chloroform extract of the rhizomes of K. parviflora is a potentially valuable source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anti-obesogenic, and anti-diabetic properties, with potential application in therapeutics and functional foods.