Antidiabetic Potential of Polysaccharide Extract from Ferula assa-foetida Gum Resin Harvested in Algerian Sahara

Abstract

Nouhad Amina Righi68209*, Messaouda Babahamou68210, Zakaria Boual68211 and Mohamed Didi Ould El Hadj68212

Ferula assa-foetida(Apiaceae), a naturally occurring medicinal plant found in the Ghardaia region of the Algerian Sahara, has garnered interest for its therapeutic potential. This study aims to partially characterize and assess the antidiabetic activity of water-soluble Polysaccharides isolated from F. assa-foetida gum-resin (PGFA). PGFA were obtained through extraction with distilled water at 80°C for 2 hours, followed by polysaccharide precipitation using three volumes of ethanol 96% and subsequent freeze-drying. The extraction yield thus obtained was 24.3%. The total carbohydrate content was 77% ± 0.22%, comprising 46.35% ± 0.015% neutral carbohydrates and 18.7 ± 0.045% uronic acids. Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) analysis of PGFA revealed the presence of galacturonic acid, glucuronic acid, arabinose, galactose, rhamnose and xylose. Evaluation of the antidiabetic activity, specifically Alpha (α)-D-glucosidase inhibitors demonstrated a significant inhibitory effect of PGFA (77.66%) at a concentration of 100 mg/ml^-1. This inhibition was compared to acarbose, a positive control, which exhibited strong inhibitory activity (100%) at the same concentration. These findings support for the use of polysaccharides extract from Ferula assa-foetida in preventing diabetic complications.