Introduction:

The species Calophyllum brasiliense Cambés (Calophyllaceae) is widespread throughout Central and South America. The stem bark infusion is used for lowering blood glucose.

Aim:

To optimize the spray dry extract ofthis plant using a D-optimal experimental design.

Materials and methods:

As factors were used the air-drying speed (3.5-4.5 m3/h), the feed flow rate of the suspension (5-11 mL/ min), and the inlet air temperature (90-130 °C). The dried extract was characterized by measuring the phenolics and flavonoids content, moisture, the water activity, apparent densities, flowability, and compressibility. The antioxidant activity, the inhibitory activity of lipase and alpha-glycosidase, and the antiglycant activity of the spray dried extract (SDE) were evaluated. Subsequently, the hypoglycemic activity was evaluated in rats by monitoring the blood glucose level, triglycerides, and cholesterol.

Results:

Inlet air temperature and feed flow rate were the factors that most affected the yield and phenolic content. SDE showed a potent antioxidant effect (IC50 1.83 μg/mL), a potent a-glycosidase (IC50 74.45 μg/mL) and pancreatic lipase (IC50 27.33 μg/mL) inhibition. A potent antiglycation effect (IC50 9.45^g/mL) was also observed.

Conclusion:

the SDE showed a potent hypoglycemic effect at 100 mg/kg. These results suggest that SDE could activate four important pathways that can contribute to diabetes control.