Comparative Study on the Hypoglycemic Effects of Different Parts of Musa balbisiana

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder that can cause elevated blood glucose levels due to impaired insulin secretion or resistance. Different parts of Musa balbisiana have been used widely in traditional medicine to treat many disorders. The present study aims to evaluate the antidiabetic ability of the corm, pseudostem, inflorescence, fruit, peel, and seed of M. balbisiana via in vitro experiments by inhibiting α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes as well as in vivo models on diabetic alloxan-induced mice. The results show that all investigated parts have performed potential inhibition on two investigated digestive enzymes. Seed poses the highest capacity among surveyed parts on α-amylase (IC₅₀:f μg/mL) and α-glucosidase (IC₅₀: 21.63 μg/mL) as well as effectively lowers the blood glucose index (IG) in alloxan-induced mice. In addition, fruit, corm, and inflorescence are considered essential parts that have high hypoglycemic effects via in vivo experiments. These findings indicate that all M. balbisiana parts are possibly a potential source for hypoglycemic agents; further clinical studies are needed to evaluate the safety of human beings before applying them in functional food and pharmaceutical industries.