Extracción de proteínas con efecto hipoglucemiante a partir de productos naturales vegetales

Abstract

The study focuses on seeking natural alternatives for diabetes treatment, given the issues with side effects from conventional medications. It centers on extracting plant-based proteins to evaluate their inhibitory capacity on the enzyme α-glucosidase, crucial for blood glucose control. Different solvents and precipitation methods were evaluated to obtain protein extracts, determining that the best results were achieved with sodium hydroxide and sodium chloride as solvents, and 20% ammonium sulfate as the precipitation method, as it preserves protein properties. Protein extracts from Erythrina edulis showed low inhibition of α-glucosidase, while those from Tecoma stans and Smallanthus sonchifolius exhibited masking due to their coloration, making it difficult to evaluate their inhibitory activity. A preliminary phytochemical analysis was conducted, identifying the presence of alkaloids, tannins, and flavonoids in Tecoma stans. Cardiotonic and flavonoids in Smallanthus sonchifolius, thus complementing their characterization. It was concluded that the best method for protein extraction is using polar solvents due to the characteristics of the proteins present in these plants, and it is suggested to minimize extract coloration through additional purification or using similar colorimetric blanks to avoid masking in assays.