In vitro aldose reductase inhibitory potential of fractions isolated from Potentilla fulgens roots

The present study was investigated to identify the active fraction of P. fulgens with aldose reductase (AR) inhibitory potential. AR is the rate limiting step of polyol pathway implicated in the onset of chronic complications of diabetes. In this study, kidney homogenates of normoglycemic and diabetic mice were used as a source of AR enzyme preparation for in vitro analysis. The Terpenoid/Phenolic (TP) fraction of P. fulgens had the lowest IC50 value (0.152 mg/ml) for AR than the other fractions. TP fraction was separated using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and separated TLC fractions were tested for their AR inhibitory activity. Among the TLC fractions, F-V had the lowest IC50 value (0.156 mg/ml) and was characterized further using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Infra-Red (IR) Spectroscopy and Mass Spectroscopy (MS). F-V showed absorption maxima at λ230 nm and λ280 nm. HPLC profile of this fraction showed the presence of one prominent peak with a retention time of 1.621. IR spectra of the prominent peak indicated the presence of aromatic group which is phenolic in nature. MS of the prominent peak showed m/z ratio of 458.8. The active fraction isolated from P. fulgens has been shown to inhibit AR in normoglycemic and diabetic mice.