The enzyme α-glucosidase has attracted attention because inhibition would delay the uptake of monosaccharides into the bloodstream following a meal. On that basis, it serves as a target for therapeutic agents for the treatment of a variety of metabolic disorders such as obesity and type II non insulin dependent diabetes. It was quite a surprise to read that in the Far East, ethanolic extracts from the Asian Scorpion, Buthus martensi Karsch have been used as a traditional remedy for many years. A short paper identifies an α-glucosidase inhibitor, a β-carboline glucoalkaloid as the novel agent (Kim, 2012) along with a profile of its inhibitory properties.
As the author reports, there is still plenty to understand about how the inhibitor binds to the enzyme but it appeared to have stronger affinity than the positive control acarbose more commonly used.
Kim, S.-D. (2013) α-glucosidase inhibitor from Buthus martensi Karsch. Food Chem., 136 pp. 297-300
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