Objective: To find digestive enzyme inhibitors as the therapeutic approach to deal with the management of diabetes mellitus.
Methods: In this study, we had in silico, analysed the anti-diabetic activity of the commercially available drugs used for diabetes treatment and few compounds which may have a potential to treat the disease. The main studied compounds are miglitol, voglibose, metformin, acetohexamide, squalene, stearic acid, heptacosanol, stigmasterol. The compounds were predicted for their biological properties based on their chemical structures as well as drug like activities. The compounds were docked with the digestive enzyme α- amylase and hydrogen bondings were revealed to study the relative stability of the complexes, which may result in the enzyme inhibition.
Findings: It may be concluded that if we succeed in achieving enzyme inhibition by a compound, then the compound may prevent the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose in the body, thus maintaining the appropriate blood glucose levels.
Application: Compounds acting as digestive enzyme inhibitors could help in control of diabetes mellitus by delaying the release of post-prandial glucose level in the blood.