Antioxidant and -amylase inhibition activities of medicinal plants are traditionally used for the treatment of digestive disorders in the near east region

Medicinal plants have been used for longtime for the treatment of many illnesses. Many plants were described in folk heritage to have an anti-inflammatory activity to treat digestive diseases. In this study, thirteen plants commonly used by Jordanian folks to treat digestive disorders were investigated to find a connection between their contents and activities and their relationship with their assigned folk use. The ethanolic extracts of the plants were tested for their Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Total Tannin Content (TTC), Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) and their antioxidants activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6sulfonic acid) (ABTS). Phenolic compounds were found in different amounts in all of the studied plants, Terminalia chebula contained the highest concentration and Dracaena cinnabari had the lowest concentration. TFC values are generally low, Achillea millefolium showed the highest concentration of flavonoids. Illicium verum showed the highest percentage of tannin. The lowest concentration of both flavonoids and tannin were found in Dracaena cinnabari. In addition, a-Amylase inhibitory activity of the plant extracts was determined, Anethum graveolens showed an excellent inhibition of a-Amylase while Angelica sinensis showed an excellent activation. Correlations between TPC, TFC, TTC, protein content with the antioxidant activities (DPPH and ABTS), and a-amylase inhibition were determined using Pearson correlation. The phenolic content and flavonoid content showed a high correlation with ABTS activity. The studied plants varied from activation to inhibition of a-Amylase, this may benefit people with hypoglycemia. This diversity of values directs people to which plant to use in case of multi-case disease.