Comparative Evaluation of BerberineQA™ and Standard Berberine Extract for Digestive Enzyme Inhibition: An In Vitro Study of Anti-Obesity and Anti-Diabetic Potential
Abstract
This study investigated the comparative in vitro anti-diabetic and anti-obesity properties of BerberineQA™ and standard berberine by evaluating digestive enzyme inhibitory activities. The anti-obesity potential of BerberineQA™ (97%) versus standard berberine hydrochloride (97%) was evaluated using the porcine pancreatic lipase inhibition assay with 4-nitrophenyl butyrate as the substrate. To evaluate the anti-diabetic activity, the samples were screened for their inhibitory effects on carbohydrate-digesting enzymes such as α-amylase and α-glucosidase using standard methods and were also compared to acarbose (standard reference). For the pancreatic lipase inhibition assay, BerberineQA™ exhibited detectable anti-lipase activity, while standard berberine showed no measurable inhibition under the experimental conditions. Both BerberineQA™ and standard berberine revealed dose-dependent enzyme inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. However, BerberineQA™ demonstrated significantly greater inhibitory activity than standard berberine. In the α-amylase inhibition assay, BerberineQA™ had a lower IC50 value of 344.42 µg/mL than that of standard berberine (385.92 µg/mL). In the α-glucosidase inhibition assay, BerberineQA™ also showed improved activity (IC50 value: 336.11 µg/mL) compared to 370.34 µg/mL for standard berberine. The findings suggest that BerberineQA™ has comparatively greater anti-diabetic and anti-obesity potential than the standard berberine. The improved enzyme inhibitory potential of BerberineQA™ indicates its promising use for managing metabolic diseases.
Keywords:
Berberine, α-amylase, α-glucosidase, anti-lipase activity, anti-diabetic activityDOI
https://doi.org/10.25004/IJPSDR.2026.180401References
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