Research Article Antidiabetic Compounds in Syzygium cumini Decoction and Ready to Serve Herbal Drink P. R. D. Perera, 1 S. Ekanayake, 2 and K. K. D. S. Ranaweera 1 1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka 2 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka Correspondence should be addressed to S. Ekanayake; sagarikae@hotmail.com Received 1 February 2017; Accepted 10 April 2017; Published 9 May 2017 Academic Editor: Srinivas Nammi Copyright © 2017 P. R. D. Perera et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Herbal beverages with desirable sensory attributes are an ideal way to ofer consumers with phytochemicals having specifc health promoting functionalities. Syzygium cumini bark decoction is used in treating diabetes mellitus in Ayurveda medicine. Tis work attempted to prove the presence of antidiabetic compounds in the S. cumini decoction and the ready to serve (RTS) herbal drink developed using the decoction. Activity guided fractionation of the decoction of the S. cumini was carried out by sequential extraction with organic solvents of diferent polarities. Tin Layer Chromatography (TLC) with authentic compounds and HPLC were performed for identifcation and confrmation of the compounds in the decoction and the RTS herbal drink. Presence of gallic and ellagic acids in the decoction and RTS herbal drink was proven and confrmed with HPLC. Te LC UV-VIS spectra of the two compounds were identical with the corresponding spectra of the library. Further, gallic acid and umbelliferone were determined as the active compounds in the decoction by TLC and were confrmed by cochromatography with authentic compounds. Te present investigation confrmed the presence of gallic acid, ellagic acid, and umbelliferone which are proven to have antidiabetic activities in the decoction and the RTS herbal drink prepared with the decoction. 1. Introduction Te global prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is rising at an alarming rate with a reported 381 million afected in 2013. It is projected that 592 million among the world population will be aficted with diabetes by 2035 [1], with the greatest prevalence in Asia and Africa [2]. According to the latest survey one in four people in Sri Lanka are afected by diabetes or prediabetes. Te reported prevalence of diabetes among Sri Lankan adults was nearly 11% with 36% of those with diabetes undiagnosed [1]. Te high prevalence of diabetes is attributed to a combination of factors such as high calorie diets, low activity life style, and genetic susceptibility [3]. Hyperglycaemia or high blood glucose is the “hallmark” of diabetes which contributes to the pathogenesis and the many complications of diabetes [4]. Long-term DM leads to macrovascular complications such as coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, stroke, and microvascular compli- cations (diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, embryopathy, and retinopathy) which decrease the quality of life of individuals with diabetes. Te key molecular basis of the long-term diabetic complications is the protein glycation which occurs in the body in accelerated rates under chronic hyperglycemic conditions forming nonreversible advanced glycated end- products (AGEs). Glycation is a nonenzymatic reaction between carbonyl group of reducing [i.e., glucose] sugars and free amino group of biological proteins resulting in the formation of AGEs via formation of Schif bases and Amadori products [5] with further oxidation and generation of excessive amounts of reactive oxygen species [6]. Tese irreversible, insoluble, forescent compounds form cross- links with and between protein molecules and compromise their physiological functions. A large body of evidence suggests that AGEs are important pathogenic mediators of almost all diabetic complications. Despite the pharmacotherapy with insulin or oral hypo- glycaemic drugs, the recent global interest in medicinal plants used in traditional medicine has escalated as these have been found to have active principles with antiglycation and Hindawi Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2017, Article ID 1083589, 5 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1083589