Ritu Sharma, Umesh Pal, Jay Krishna Singh, Meenakshi Tanwar, Rajinder K Gupta
The wild ecotype of Jamun (Syzygium cumini) is known for its inedible fruits that are not yet explored for their bioactive potential. The present study assesses the ethnopharmacological and phytochemical properties of its fruit pulp and seed extracts. GC-MS and UHPLC-QTOF-MS analyses identified 44 compounds in seeds and 38 compounds in pulp. The α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory assays revealed IC50 values of 0.238 and 1.65 µL/mL for pulp, and 0.05 and 4.80 µL/mL for seeds, respectively. Insulin secretion was enhanced, with pulp extract showing 297.73 U/mL and seed extract 244.45 U/mL, compared to 156.55 U/mL in the control. Glucose uptake in L6 cells was significantly increased (707 µg/mL for pulp, 697.35 µg/mL for seeds, vs. 506.48 µg/mL in the control). Cytotoxicity assays showed safe profiles, with IC50 values of 314 ± 0.09 µg/mL for pulp and 83.9 ± 0.1 µg/mL for seeds. Overall, the findings suggest that the wild ecotype of Syzygium cumini fruit, which is not consumed by humans and animals, exhibits strong antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities, indicating its potential for use in the Indian system of medicine.