Acarbose

Acarbose reversibly inhibits intestinal alpha-glucosidases, enzymes responsible for the metabolism of complex carbohydrates into absorbable monosaccharide units.^[1]

Acarbose reduces the absorption of monosaccharides derived from dietary carbohydrates, which play an important role in the metabolism and toxicity of some chemical compounds. Acarbose alone potentiates carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) andacetaminophen (AP) hepatotoxicity, as evidenced by significantly increased levels of both alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) in the plasma of rats pretreated with acarbose. ^[2] Acarbose treatment suppresses weight gain and the development of hepatic steatosis in sqstm1 gene knockout mice. Acarbose treatment up-regulates hepatic expression of the pparalpha, ucp-2, and abca1 genes, as well as srebp1c, pparalpha, and ppargamma in adipose tissue. ^[3] Acarbose-treated rats have lower body weights at 3 months of age with unaltered food consumption, and a similar effect is seen with a high-fructose diet in the JCR:LA-corpulent rat. ^[4] Acarbose markedly improves postprandial hyperglycemia, postprandial insulin level, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and free fatty acid level in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats. Acarbose efficiently reduces the number of monocytes adherent to aortic endothelial layer, improves acetylcholine-dependent vasodilatation, and reduces intimal thickening of the aorta in GK rats. ^[5]