Potential of medang reso (Cinnamomum parthenoxylon) as raw material source for antidiabetic drugs

Abstract Diabetics is known as a dangerous comorbid disease in covid 19 patience. Many herbal medicines are used to prevent diabetes. Recently, the use of herbal medicine increased rapidly. In Indonesia, many indigenous plants have been used as source of raw material of herbal medicine including Cinnamomum parthenoxylon. Previous study reported that in vitro administration of C. parthenoxylon extract could reduce the sugar level and increased the plasma insulin level. Data on phytochemistry and bio-activity of this species are unavailable yet. Therefore, this study examined the phytochemical constituents and antidiabetic activity of their leaves. The leaves of C. pathenoxylon were collected from Bangka Belitung and South Sumatra for phytochemical screening and in vitro study. The phytochemical screening showed that constituents of flavonoids, steroids, tannins, alkaloids, and saponins were contained in the water extract of C. pathenoxylon leaves. The study indicated that extract leaves of C. pathenoxylon contains antidiabetic activity. In conclusion, C. pathenoxylon has the potential to be utilized as a source of raw material for diabetes medication. However, further in vivo and human administration studies are essentially required.