Sains Malaysiana 49(1)(2020): 145-154

http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2020-4901-18

Antioxidant and Anti-Diabetic Status of Popular Malay Health Tonic Consumed for Wellness: Help or Hype?

(Status Antioksidan dan Anti-Diabetik dalam Pengambilan Tonik Kesihatan Popular Melayu untuk Kesejahteraan: Membantu atau Mudarat?)

MOHD NAZRI ZAYAPOR¹, AMINAH ABDULLAH² & WAN AIDA WAN MUSTAPHA³*

¹Center of Promotion and Business Development, MARDI Johor Baharu, Lot 6313, Jalan Taruka off Jalan Datin Halimah, 81200 Johor Baharu, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

²Natural Medicine Research Centre, Level 7, Blok I, Bangunan MKN Embassy Techzone, Jalan Teknokrat 2, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

³Center for Biotechnology and Functional Food, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Received: 24 April 2019/Accepted: 17 October 2019

ABSTRACT

Contemporary Malay health tonics labeled as botanical drinks are advertised in the Malaysian market as effective therapeutic supplements toward improving consumer health. The therapeutic claims associated with high antioxidants are based on the herbal ingredients used, yet unproven by scientific evidence. Moreover, they are mostly sweetened with sugar, which may arise the potential of diabetic risk. Thus, a dire clarification on the potential antioxidant status and diabetic risk of these products is essential to nullify over claims. Eight commercial botanical drinks that serve as health tonics were selected based on their advertisement popularity and traditional medicine sellers' interview feedbacks. The selected tonics were mutually compared with a green tea (DGT01) as the benchmark for their total phenolic content (TPC); antioxidant activities [the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging inhibition capacities, IC50; Ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP); and Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC)], anti-diabetic property through the α-glucosidase inhibition (AGI) and as well as the sugar content. The results were mapped for variations using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Three out of 8 health tonics (NS12, SK53, and MU13) has approximately 3 to 4-fold, 1.1-fold and 2.5-fold higher in TPC, ORAC, and FRAP reducing capacities, respectively. Only NS12 and SK53 showed strong AGI (>80% inhibition). Three tonics, NS12, SK53, and HS06 exhibited precaution levels of sugar with more than 180 mg of total sugars per serving. From the PCA, DGT01 was dissociated from any tonic. NS12 and SK23 were closely related in terms of antioxidant and AGI activities.  Although they showed promising therapeutic benefits due to high antioxidant activities and low diabetic risk, the tonics' efficacies and safety are still dubious shall be verified by reliable clinical trials. The selection of a health tonic shall not only be based on multi antioxidant-rich ingredients but low in sugar for a healthier choice.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; green tea; polyphenol; spices; tonic

Abstrak

Tonik kesihatan Melayu kontemporari yang dilabelkan sebagai minuman botani diiklankan dalam pasaran Malaysia sebagai supplemen terapeutik yang berkesan bagi mempertingkatkan kesihatan konsumer. Akuan terapeutik ini seringkali dikaitkan dengan kandungan antioksidan yang tinggi berdasarkan ramuan rempah dan herba yang digunakan. Walau bagaimanapun, akuan tersebut jarang sekali disokong oleh bukti saintifik. Oleh itu, suatu pencerahan mengenai potensi status antioksidan dan risiko diabetik produk ini amat perlu dilakukan bagi membatalkan akuan berlebihan ini. Lapan tonik kesihatan dipilih berdasarkan populariti di media massa dan hasil daripada temu bual rawak dengan penjual ubatan tradisi. Tonik yang terpilih dibandingkan dengan teh hijau untuk kandungan fenolik keseluruhan (TPC), kekuatan penghapus radikal bebas DPPH IC₅₀, kapasiti penurunan FRAP, kapasiti penyerapan radikal oksigen (ORAC), AGI dan juga kandungan gula. Jika dibandingkan dengan DGT01, 3 daripada 8 tonik kesihatan (NS12, SK 53 dan MU 13) masing-masing menunjukkan kira-kira 3 ke 4-kali ganda, 1.1-kali ganda dan 2.5-kali ganda lebih tinggi di dalam TPC, ORAC dan kapasiti FRAP. Hanya NS12 dan SK53 sahaja yang menunjukkan AGI yang tinggi (>80% perencatan). Tiga tonik, NS12, SK53 dan HS06 menunjukkan paras gula yang membimbangkan dengan melebihi 180 mg jumlah gula (jumlah hasil fruktosa, glukosa dan sukrosa) setiap hidangan. Daripada PCA, DGT01 terasing daripada sebarang tonik. NS12 dan SK23 menunjukkan perkaitan hampir dalam aktiviti antioksidan dan antidiabetik.  Walaupun kedua-dua tonik menunjukkan potensi manfaat terapeutik disebabkan aktiviti antioksidan dan risiko diabetik yang rendah, tetapi efikasi dan keselamatannya masih belum jelas dan perlukan kesahihan dengan percubaan klinikal. Pemilihan tonik kesihatan seharusnya tidak bersandarkan kepada beragam ramuan kaya-antioksida semata-mata tetapi rendah gula untuk pilihan yang lebih sihat.

Kata kunci: Diabetes mellitus; polifenol; rempah ratus; teh hijau; tonik

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*Corresponding author; email: wanaidawm@ukm.edu.my