Research Article
Antidiabetic Activity of Aloe vera Leaves
Alethia Muñiz-Ramirez ,
1
RosaM.Perez,
2
Efren Garcia,
3
andFabiolaE.Garcia
4
1
CONACYT-IPICYT/CIIDZA,CaminoalaPresadeSanJos´e2055,Col.Lomas4Secci´ on,CP78216SanLuisPotos´ ı S.L.P, Mexico
2
Laboratorio de Investigaci´ on de Productos Naturales, Escuela Superior de Ingenier´ ıa Qu´ ımica e Industrias Extractivas,
Instituto Polit´ ecnico Nacional, Av. Instituto Polit´ ecnico Nacional S/N, Unidad Profesional Adolfo Lopez Mateos,
CP 07708 Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
3
Laboratorio de Qu´ ımica Supramolecular y Nanociencias, Instituto Polit´ ecnico Nacional, Acueducto S/N,
Barrio la laguna Ticom´ an, CP 07340 Ciudad de M´exico, Mexico
4
Facultad de Ciencias Qu´ ımicas, Universidad Aut´ onoma de San Luis Potos´ ı, Av. Dr. Manuel Nava No. 6-Zona Universitaria,
CP 78210 San Luis Potos´ ı S.L.P, Mexico
CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoAlethiaMuñiz-Ramirez;alethia.muniz@ipicyt.edu.mx
Received 19 December 2019; Revised 25 February 2020; Accepted 27 March 2020; Published 25 May 2020
AcademicEditor:RonaldSherman
Copyright©2020AlethiaMuñiz-Ramirezetal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
isresearchevaluatedthepotentialofusingthemethanolextractof Aloe vera (L.)Burm.f(AVM)topreventtheformationof
AGEs by means of the BSA/glucose assay, BSA-methylglyoxal assay, arginine-methylglyoxal assay, fructosamine, Nε-(carbox-
ymethyl)lysine(CML),thiolgroups,andcarbonylprotein in vitro.eeffectofAVMwasalsoevaluatedwithregardtoinhibiting
the enzymes α-amylase, α-glucosidase,andpancreaticlipase.Forthis,theplantwasdried,ground,andsubsequentlymacerated
with methanol. Aloe vera methanol extract (AVM) significantly decreased the formation of AGEs, as well as the formation of
fructosamine,CML,andcarbonylprotein.econcentrationof5mg/mlofAVMpresentedthebestresults.AVMsignificantly
inhibited the α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes. As regards the content of thiol groups, a significant increase was observed
duringthefourweeksoftheexperiment.So,wecanconcludethat Aloe vera methanolextractdecreasestheformationofAGEs
and may inhibit the increase in postprandial glucose, suggesting that AVM can prevent diabetes complications associated
with AGE.
1.Introduction
Protein glycation is considered one of the main causes of
complications of diabetes, such as vasculopathy, retinopa-
thy, nephropathy and neuropathy, cataracts, and chronic
kidneydisease[1].eglycationofproteinsbringsaboutthe
formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs),
which modify the structure of proteins and alter enzymatic
activity[2].AGEsareformedbythenonenzymaticreaction
ofthefreeaminogroupofaproteinwiththecarbonylofa
sugar or a reducing aldehyde (called the Maillard reaction)
[3], resulting in the formation of Schiff bases, subsequently
through a series of reactions, and fluorescent compounds
suchaspentosidineandnonfluorescentcompoundssuchas
carboxymethyl lysine (CML) are formed [4]. Some AGEs,
suchasCMLandpentosidine,havebecomebiomarkersfor
glycooxidizing damage [5]. erefore, taking into account
the pathological implications of glycation, it becomes es-
sentialtodiscoverinhibitorsofproteinglycation,whichmay
help reduce and/or prevent complications in diabetes
mellitus [2]. For centuries, herbal medicines have been
widelyusedtotreatawidevarietyofdiseases.Todate,many
of these plants are still used as a first alternative to cure
certain diseases in developing countries around the world
due to the few side effects they present; it has also been
reportedthataround20%ofthemedicinesusedthroughout
the world come from plants [6]. In this context, there is a
growing interest in discovering safe and nontoxic plant
sourcestofindalternativeorcomplementarymedicinesthat
help the treatment of various chronic diseases such as
Hindawi
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume 2020, Article ID 6371201, 9 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6371201