Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant and Metabolic Enzyme Activity of Alchemilla vulgaris Grown in Organic Farming Conditions

The objective of this research was to evaluate the in vitro antidiabetic (αglucosidase and α-amylase), antihyperlipidemic (pancreatic cholesterol esterase), and antiobesity (pancreatic lipase) activities of an infusion prepared from the aerial parts of Alchemilla vulgaris, cultivated using organic farming methods. The phytochemical content of the infusion was determined using UV spectroscopy (total phenol and total flavonoids) and the reverse phase-HPLC method. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging, metal chelating capacity, and reducing power methods were used to evaluate the antioxidant effect. Regarding the antidiabetic effect, the infusion exhibited the highest activity, with a 61.95 ± 1.57% inhibition rate against α-glucosidase at a concentration of 2 mg/mL. While it had 30.81 ± 0.58% inhibition at a concentration of 2 mL on pancreatic cholesterol esterase enzyme, the inhibition value of simvastatin, the reference compound, at the same concentration was determined to be 53.19 ± 3.36%. The A. vulgaris infusion demonstrated complete inhibition of ABTS radicals (100%) at concentrations of 1 and 2 mg/mL, and exhibited a 99.41 ± 6.71% metal chelating capacity at a concentration of 2 mg/mL. As a result of reverse phase-HPLC analysis, it was determined that the major compound of the infusion was ellagic acid (2.162 ± 0.010 g/100 g extract), and it also contained quercetin-3-Oglucoside and luteolin. The findings suggest that the plant can be evaluated for further studies, including activity-directed isolation, in vivo and in silico studies, particularly in terms of α-glucosidase enzyme inhibitory activity.