What are the side effects of alpha-glucosidase inhibitors?

Adverse effects include flatulence, diarrhea, and abdominal pain from the presence of undigested carbohydrates in the lower gastrointestinal tract. These effects tend to decrease with continued use. When given alone, α-glucosidase inhibitors do not cause hypoglycemia.

Where are alpha-glucosidase inhibitors metabolized?

Pharmacokinetics. α-Glucosidase inhibitors are taken at the beginning of meals. Absorption of acarbose is poor. It is metabolized in the gastrointestinal tract, principally by intestinal bacteria.

What does α-Glucosidase do?

Glucosidase enzymes catalyze hydrolysis of starch to simple sugars. In humans, these enzymes aid digestion of dietary carbohydrates and starches to produce glucose for intestinal absorption, which in turn, leads to increase in blood glucose levels.

Is glucosidase an inhibitor?

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors are antihyperglycemic agents that lower blood glucose by delaying the digestion and absorption of complex carbohydrates. They are competitive inhibitors of the enzymes in the brush border of enterocytes that cleave eligosaccharides to monosaccharides.

When should I take alpha-glucosidase inhibitors?

You take an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor with the first bite of each meal. Most people take a pill three times a day. An alpha-glucosidase inhibitor will usually lower your A1c (the “average” of your blood sugar control over a few months) by about 0.5% to 0.8%.

Do alpha-glucosidase inhibitors cause weight loss?

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors increase levels of GLP-1 after eating. GLP-1 or glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone that slows digestion, decreases appetite and helps you feel fuller more quickly during a meal. As a result, Acarbose medication can support weight loss.

How does metformin work in the body?

How does metformin work? The medicine does not increase insulin levels in the body, but instead lessens the amount of sugar the body produces and absorbs. As it lowers glucose production in the liver, metformin also lowers blood sugar by increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin.

Can diabetic pills cause hypoglycemia?

But too much insulin or other diabetes medications may cause your blood sugar level to drop too much, causing hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia can also occur if you eat less than usual after taking your regular dose of diabetes medication, or if you exercise more than you typically do.

What is the difference between alpha and beta glucosidase?

This is in contrast to beta-glucosidase. Alpha-glucosidase breaks down starch and disaccharides to glucose. Maltase, a similar enzyme that cleaves maltose, is nearly functionally equivalent….

Alpha-glucosidase
KEGG KEGG entry
MetaCyc metabolic pathway
PRIAM profile
PDB structures RCSB PDB PDBe PDBsum

How effective are alpha-glucosidase inhibitors?

In this Cochrane meta-analysis,1 alpha-glucosidase inhibitors were found to reduce glycated hemoglobin by 0.8 percent when compared with placebo (95% confidence interval, −0.9 to −0.6; 28 comparisons).

What is alpha-glucosidase test?

Conclusions: The determination of acid alpha-glucosidase activity in dried-blood spots is a useful, noninvasive diagnostic assay for the identification of Pompe disease. With further validation, this procedure could be adapted for use with blood spots collected in newborn-screening programs.