Title:Recent Advances of α-Glucosidase Inhibitors: A Comprehensive Review
Volume: 22
Issue: 25
Author(s): Neetu Agrawal, Manisha Sharma, Shikha Singh and Ahsas Goyal*
Affiliation:
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, GLA University, Mathura, 281406 U.P., India
Keywords:
α-glucosidase, Diabetes mellitus, Hypoglycaemic, Inhibitors, Natural inhibitors, Phytochemical.
Abstract:
Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a critical health issue prevailing in nearly half a
billion people worldwide. It is one of the most threatening metabolic diseases. Type 2 DM is caused
due to insulin resistance and accounts for 90% of diabetes cases. If it remains untreated, it can lead
to major frightening complications and can cause death, which ultimately threatens humankind.
Discussion: Various oral hypoglycaemic drugs are available today, acting on different targets by
adopting different pathways. However, the α-glucosidase inhibitors proved to be a novel and effective
strategy to manage T2DM. These inhibitors alleviate postprandial glycemia by aiming to inhibit
intestinal α-glucosidase competitively and reversibly, thus delaying carbohydrate digestion and
turning down the rate of glucose absorption. Plenty of α-glucosidase inhibitors have been discovered
from synthetic routes as well as from natural sources, including plants, fungi, and bacteria.
Conclusion: This article comprises the natural and synthetic α-glucosidase discovered from 2016 to
2021 and can be utilized to discover novel α-glucosidase inhibitors. This review is an endeavor to
highlight the progress in the discovery and development of α-glucosidase inhibitors, which could
provide an overview to the medicinal chemists for the development of clinically viable drugs using
this information.