kotalanol and Diabetes-Mellitus--Type-2

This Highlight describes the detailed approach used to determine the absolute stereochemistry of the stereogenic centers in the acyclic side chain of kotalanol, a naturally occurring glucosidase inhibitor isolated from the plant Salacia reticulata. The plant extract itself is used in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. We highlight the syntheses of proposed candidates based on structure-activity relationships, the total synthesis of kotalanol, and crystallographic studies of kotalanol and its de-O-sulfonated derivative complexed with recombinant human maltase glucoamylase (MGA), a critical intestinal glucosidase involved in the breakdown of glucose oligomers into glucose.

Topics: alpha-Glucosidases; Biological Products; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Glucosidases; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors; Humans; Intestines; Medicine, Ayurvedic; Molecular Structure; Monosaccharides; Salacia; Stereoisomerism; Structure-Activity Relationship; Sulfates

The antidiabetic effect of a hot water extract of stems of Salacia chinensis (SCE) was evaluated in vivo in KK-Ay mice, a typical type 2 diabetes mellitus mice model. Administration of CE-2 dietary feed containing 0.25 and/or 0.50% of SCE for three weeks to KK-Ay mice significantly suppressed the elevation of both blood glucose and HbA1c levels without significant changes in body weight or food intake. Glucose tolerance was improved by administration to KK-Ay mice for 27 days of AIN93M purified dietary feed containing 0.12% of SCE. No suppressive effect with respect to HbA1c level was observed when AIN93M/Glc dietary feed in which all digestible glucides were replaced with glucose was administered with SCE. Thus, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity approved as the mechanism of action of the antidiabetic effect of SCE by in vitro investigation was reconfirmed also in in vivo studies. Evaluation of the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the active constituents, salacinol (1), kotalanol (3), and neokotalanol (4), by employing human α-glucosidases revealed that these compounds inhibited them as potently (IC50 = 3.9-4.9 μM for maltase) as they inhibited rat small intestinal α-glucosidase. The principal sulfonium constituents (1-4) were highly stable in an artificial gastric juice. In addition, 1-4 were hardly absorbed from the intestine in an experiment using the in situ rat ligated intestinal loop model. The results indicate that these sulfoniums are promising leads for a new type of anti-diabetic agents.

Topics: alpha-Glucosidases; Animals; Blood Glucose; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Disease Models, Animal; Glycated Hemoglobin; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors; Humans; Intestine, Small; Male; Mice; Monosaccharides; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Salacia; Sugar Alcohols; Sulfates; Sulfonium Compounds

Kotalanol and de-O-sulfonated-kotalanol are the most active principles in the aqueous extracts of Salacia reticulata which are traditionally used in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand for the treatment of diabetes. We report here the exact stereochemical structures of these two compounds by synthesis and comparison of their physical data to those of the corresponding natural compounds. The candidate structures were based on our recent report on the synthesis of analogues and also the structure-activity relationship studies of lower homologues. The initial synthetic strategy relied on the selective nucleophilic attack of p-methoxybenzyl (PMB)-protected 4-thio-D-arabinitol at the least hindered carbon atom of two different, selectively protected 1,3-cyclic sulfates to afford the sulfonium sulfates. The protecting groups consisted of a methylene acetal, in the form of a seven-membered ring, and benzyl ethers. Deprotection of the adducts yielded the sulfonium ions but also resulted in de-O-sulfonation. Comparison of the physical data of the two adducts to those reported for de-O-sulfonated natural kotalanol yielded the elusive structure of kotalanol by inference. The side chain of this compound was determined to be another naturally occurring heptitol, d-perseitol (d-glycero-d-galacto-heptitol) with a sulfonyloxy group at the C-5 position. The synthesis of kotalanol itself was then achieved by coupling PMB-protected 4-thio-d-arabinitol with a cyclic sulfate that was synthesized from the naturally occurring d-perseitol. The work establishes unambiguously the structures of two natural products, namely, kotalanol and de-O-sulfonated kotalanol.

Topics: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Enzyme Inhibitors; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors; Glycoside Hydrolases; Herbal Medicine; Humans; Molecular Structure; Monosaccharides; Stereoisomerism; Sulfates