Extraction of Mangiferin from the Leaves of the Mango Tree Mangifera indica and Evaluation of its Biological Activity in Terms of Blockade of α-glucosidase

Abstract

A method of extracting mangiferin from dried powdered leaves from mango trees using the solvent mixture isopropanol and water (60:40 v/v) was used. The yields of technical product and purified mangiferin recrystallized from a mixture of isopropanol and water (50:50 v/v) were 1.46% (purity 88.6%) and 0.8% (purity 98.2%). The chemical structure of mangiferin was confirmed by UV-VIS and IR spectrophotometry, electrospray mass spectrometry, and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Technical product and mangiferin were tested for biological activity in terms of blockade of α-glucosidase, as compared with acarbose. Mangiferin provided significantly greater blockade of α-glucosidase than acarbose, with IC₅₀ values of 11.18 and 5.82 μg/ml for technical product and mangiferin respectively and 199.47 μg/ml for acarbose. These results are important preliminary investigations for further investigation of mangiferin and the development of therapeutic formulations of this highly active hypoglycemic substance.