α-Glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibitory effects of an abietane type diterpenoid taxoquinone from Metasequoia glyptostroboides

BACKGROUND: Nowadays plant derived natural compounds have gained huge amount of research attention especially in food and medicine industries due to their multitude of biological and therapeutic properties as alternative medicines. METHODS: In this study, a diterpenoid compound taxoquinone, isolated from Metasequoia glyptostroboides was evaluated for its α–glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibitory efficacy in terms of its potent anti-diabetic and depigmentation potential, respectively. RESULTS: As a result, taxoquinone at the concentration range of 100–3,000 μg/mL and 200–1,000 μg/mL showed potent efficacy on inhibiting α-glucosidase and tyrosinase enzymes by 9.24-51.32% and 11.14-52.32%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study clearly evident potent therapeutic efficacy of an abietane diterpenoid taxoquinone isolated from M. glyptostroboides with a possibility for using it as a novel candidate in food and medicine industry as a natural alternative medicine to prevent diabetes mellitus type-2 related disorders and as a depigmentation agent.