Abstract:
To develop natural product complexes with synergistic hypoglycemic effects, small yellow ginger extract (GE) was used as the main material with dried tangerine peel (
Citrus reticulata Blanco) and hawthorn (
Crataegus pinnatifida Bge.) extracts (DTPE and CPE) as auxiliary materials. The
α-glucosidase activity inhibition assay was integrated with the isobologram method and Chou-Talalay combination index method to comprehensively analyze and evaluate the
α-glucosidase inhibitory activities and combination indices of the individual and combined extracts of small yellow ginger, dried tangerine peel, and hawthorn. Subsequently, the complex combinations exhibiting synergistic hypoglycemic effects were further investigated for their hypoglycemic activities using an insulin-resistant HepG2 (IR-HepG2) cell model and a
Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) hyperglycemic model. The results showed that GE-DTPE (1:2), GE-CPE (1:2) and GE-CPE (1:3) combinations exhibited synergistic hypoglycaemic effects (CI: 0.759, 0.837, and 0.861, respectively). In the IR-HepG2 cell experiments, when the sample concentration was 400 μg/mL, the GE, GE-DTPE (1:2), GE-CPE (1:2), GE-CPE (1:3), and acarbose increased IR-HepG2 cell glucose consumption by 16.86%, 18.09%, 22.51%, 18.97%, and 40.57%, and boosted glycogen synthesis by 13.18%, 14.90%, 17.10%, 15.67%, and 24.60%, respectively. In the high-glucose C. elegans model, GE-CPE (1:2) at a sample concentration of 200 μg/mL exhibited the strongest hypoglycemic potential compared to the high-glucose control group. It increased GSH and SOD levels by 69.89% and 46.99%, respectively, while reducing MDA, intracellular glucose, triglyceride, and lipid accumulation by 37.43%, 66.10%, 56.43%, and47.35%, respectively. This study provides a theoretical reference for the study of synergistic hypoglycaemic activity of small yellow ginger extract series and the development of compound hypoglycaemic functional foods.