Hypoglycemic Effect of Jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus) Extract on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

The purpose of this research was to investigate the inhibitory effect of jicama extract on ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity, ${\alpha}$-amylase activity, and postprandial hyperglycemia in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Jicama extract showed prominent inhibitory effects against ${\alpha}$-glucosidase and ${\alpha}$-amylase. The $IC_{50}$ values of jicama extract against ${\alpha}$-glucosidase and ${\alpha}$-amylase were $0.083{\pm}0.004$ and $0.091{\pm}0.017mg/mL$, respectively. The increase in postprandial blood glucose levels was more significantly suppressed in the jicama extract-administered group than in the control group of both STZ-induced diabetic and normal mice. Blood glucose levels of the control group increased to $383.75{\pm}11.54$ and $402.50{\pm}15.32mg/dL$ at 30 and 60 min after a meal and decreased to $349.67{\pm}11.62mg/dL$ at 120 min. However, postprandial blood glucose levels were significantly decreased, when diabetic mice were fed with jicama extract ($342.00{\pm}15.73$, $367.00{\pm}13.00$, and $329.67{\pm}12.43mg/dL$ at 30, 60, and 120 min, respectively). Furthermore, the area under the curve was significantly decreased with jicama extract administration in diabetic mice (P<0.05). Therefore, these results indicate that jicama extract may help decrease postprandial blood glucose level by inhibiting ${\alpha}$-glucosidase.