Tannins

The indication of tannins in Piper betle and Piper sarmentosum was tested by using
ferric chloride test. A few drops of iron (III) chloride was added and the formation of deep
blue black color was observed. It indicates that tannin is present in Piper betle and Piper
sarmentosum. Tannins can be classified into two broad groups which is hydrolysable tannins
and condensed tannins. Molecules with a polyol (D-glucose) as a central core is hydrosable
tannins while a group of naturally occurring polyphenolic bioflavonoids is condensed tannins
(Kumari et al., 2012). Gallotannins, also known as tannic acid (TA), and ellagitannins are the
main components of the hydrolysable tannins (Liu et al., 2005). Tannic acid was also
reported to promote glucose transport and differentiation inhibition in 3T3-L1 adipocytes127.
The phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT 4) have been
accomplished (Aba et al., 2018). TA was previously shown to be antidiabetic in type (II)
diabetic patients. The activities of TA are suitable to treat symptoms of type (II) diabetes
such as hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceremia without concomitant weight
gain or even weight loss [ CITATION Xue05 \l 17417 ]. Therefore, tannins could be helpful in
preventing and treating diabetes mellitus and its associated complications, according to the
present review findings and these natural products could be promising compounds for
detecting new hypoglycemic agents (Ajebli et al., 2019).

Triterpenoids

The presence of triterpenoids in Piper betle and Piper sarmentosum was checked by
using Liebermann burchard test. 300 μl of each sample was put into 1 ml of chloroform and
a few drops of concentrated sulfuric acid was added. The formation of reddish brown
precipitate appeared. It indicates that triterpenoid is present in both Piper species. Based on
the result obtained, Piper sarmentosum significantly had a high content of triterpenoids
compared to Piper betle aqueous extract. Triterpenoids which also known as triterpenes can
inhibit glucose metabolism enzymes, prevent insulin resistance development and normalize
the levels of plasma glucose and insulin (Nazaruk et al., 2015). Triterpenoids can be
classified into two chemical types which is tetracyclic and pentacyclic. Triterpenoids can
further be sub-classified into diverse groups including dammaranes, cycloartanes,
lanostanes, cucurbitanes (tetracyclic triterpenoids), lupanes, oleananes, ursanes, friedelanes
(pentacyclic triterpenoids), and miscellaneous compounds (Lyu et al., 2016). Previous study
showed that triterprenoids exhibited dose dependent α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (Kuang
et al, 2011). This prove that selected triterpenes could be an effective treatment to combat
diabetes mellitus and are promising compounds for the development of new multitarget
bioactive drugs. Triterpenes may be an effective strategy to prevent diabetic complications
as an advanced glycation end product inhibitor (Nazaruk et al., 2015).

References
Asuzu, P. E. (2018). Mechanisms of actions of some bioactive anti-diabetic principles from. Indian
Journal of Natural Products and Resources , 85-96.

Borzym-Kluczyk, J. N. (2015). The role of triterpenes in the management of diabetes mellitus and its
complications. Phytochemistry Reviews, 675–690.

Eddouks, M. A. (2019). The Promising Role of Plant Tannins as Bioactive Antidiabetic Agents. Current
Medicinal Chemistry , 4852 - 4884.

Hai-Xue Kuang, H.-W. L.-H.-Y.-B.-G. (2011). Triterpenoids from the Roots of Sanguisorba tenuifolia
var. Alba. Molecules, 4642-51 .

Han Lyu, J. C.-l. (2016). Natural Triterpenoids for the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus:. Natural
Product Communications , 1579 - 1586.

Jain, M. K. (2012). Tannins: An Antinutrient with Positive Effect to Manage Diabetes. Research
Journal of Recent Sciences, 1-8.

Xueqing Liu, J.-k. K. (2005). Tannic Acid Stimulates Glucose Transport and Inhibits Adipocyte
Differentiation in 3T3-L1 Cells. The Journal of Nutrition, 165-171.