ABSTRACT

Solanum muricatum is an exotic plant from Solanaceae family that is cultivated in the south of Turkey. However, fruit of the plant is known as pepino melon and introduced in the market for its antidiabetic and hepatoprotective effects; there is no sufficient scientific evidence for these activities. Therefore, tlıis study was aimed to evaluate whether pepino fmits lıave lowering effect on blood glucose level or not. Juice of fmits was obtained just before ripening and hypoglycaemic effect of juice was investigated on normoglycaemic and glucose loaded rats at two different doses (250 and 500 mg/kg). Additionally acute antidiabetic activity was evaluated on streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Tolbutamide was used as a reference drug at 100 mg/kg dose. Moreover, alpha glucosidase and alpha amylase inlıibitory effects of fruit juice were also investigated. Antioxidant activity was examined by using DPPH radical scavenging assays. Furthermore, total phenolic content of fmit juice was determined to enlighten the Chemical profile. Present study demonstrated that pepino juice was found to have a significant antidiabetic activity on diabetic animals at 500 mg/kg dose (27.1%). Pepino fruit should to be consumed by eating the whole fruit and it may be recoımnended to diabetic patients as a beneficial fruit with its low sugar content, lıigh dietary fibers and its lıigh antioxidant properties.