Diabetes is a chronic human disease worldwide and the search for natural products for diabetes management is of immense research interest. The red maple (Acer rubrum) is a native North American plant species and its bark was used as a tonic by the indigenous peoples for a variety of health benefits. We previously reported that a red maple bark extract inhibited blood glucose levels, comparable to acarbose (a clinical a-glucosidase inhibitory drug), in an animal model. Furthermore, we isolated a series of new gallotannins, named maplexins A-I, several of which were 20-fold more potent a-glucosidase inhibitors than acarbose in vitro. Here, we further evaluated the anti-diabetic effects of the maple gallotanins on the formation of Advance Glycation End products (AGEs). The compounds were 10-fold more potent than aminoguanidine (a synthetic antiglycative agent) in their inhibitory effects against AGEs formation.  Moreover, the mechanisms of inhibitory effects of the gallotannins were elucidated by utilizing various biophysical techniques including circular dichroism, fluorescence-probe, MALDI-MS and STD-NMR. Overall, these studies suggest that red maple gallotannins may have potential nutraceutical applications but further in vivo studies would be required to confirm this.

Mechanistic studies of gallotannins isolated from red maple (<i>Acer rubrum</i>) species with antidiabetic properties

247th National Meeting (2014)

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Mechanistic studies of gallotannins isolated from red maple (Acer rubrum) species with antidiabetic properties