Evaluation of antidiabetic effects, antioxidant activities, and phytochemical components of oleo-gum resins from three Iranian plants

Ferula latisecta, Dorema kopetdaghense, and Dorema ammoniacum oleo-gum resins are among the most valuable Iranian herbal products and have great potential to be exported abroad. This study aims to phytochemically investigate the antioxidant and antidiabetic effects of the mentioned oleo-gum resins. The hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanolic extracts of gums were prepared through a "sequential extraction" method. The antidiabetic effects of the extracts were evaluated on the basis of α-amylase and α-glycosidase enzyme inhibition methods. In addition, the antioxidant effects of the extracts were analyzed against DPPH free radicals. Besides, the phenolic and flavonoid compounds of the extracts were measured. The results showed that the hexane extract of D. ammoniacum gum had the highest inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase (92.99%). Also, the methanolic extract of this plant showed the highest inhibitory activity against α-amylase (50.84%). The hexane extract of D. ammoniacum gum has high antioxidant properties with an IC50 value of 40.85 μg/mL. Moreover, the hexane extract of D. ammoniacum gum has the highest amount of phenolic compounds with 530.52 mg of gallic acid/g of extract, among the others. According to the results, the gum of D. ammoniacum is rich of phenolic compounds and has high antioxidant and antidiabetic effects in comparison to common standards. So, this herbal product can be worthy of further investigation.