Study of pancreatic lipase inhibition kinetics and LC-QTOF-MS-based identification of bioactive constituents of Momordica charantia fruits.

The different parts of Momordica charantia have been reported to have several therapeutic applications against hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia associated with pancreatic lipase (PL). Inhibition of this enzyme prevents the absorption of dietary triglyceride in the intestine, and thus exerts an anti-obesity effect. This study aimed to investigate the bioactive constituents of the fruits of M. charantia (MCF) extract and fractions against pancreatic PL followed by study of their inhibition kinetics. The PL inhibitory assay was performed spectrophotometrically by measuring the change in absorbance of the products at 405 nm, using p-nitrophenylcaprylate as substrate. The results indicated that the ethyl acetate fraction of MCF (EFMC) offered significant, dose-dependent inhibition against PL, compared with the positive control, Orlistat. The enzyme kinetics study revealed the inhibition to be a mixed type in nature. Additionally, the total phenol and flavonoid content of the fractions was estimated. A positive correlation between phenolic content of EFMC and its PL inhibitory activity was established statistically, which implied that higher inhibition potential was contributed by the phenolic compounds. The identification of the bioactive constituents was further confirmed by LC-QTOF-MS study. This finding suggested that phenolic compounds of MCF can serve as functional food components to address obesity-related disorders linked with PL.