Diabetes is one of the most common metabolic diseases in humans and the use of herbal medicines is of great clinical importance to inhibit carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes and reduce blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. Inhibition of glycosidase activity is an effective way to treat and prevent diabetes. Therefore, in this study, curcumin-based benzaldehyde derivatives were synthesized and used as influential agents in the treatment of diabetes with inhibitory properties against two carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes α-glucosidase (α-Glu) and α-amylase (α-Amy) as significant therapeutic targets for reducing postprandial hyperglycemia. Overall, the findings showed that due to the specific inhibitory activity against α-Glu in comparison with α-Amy, as well as more stability and antioxidant activity than curcumin, C5 and C8 derivatives are potentially important anti-diabetic drugs, not only to decrease glycemic index but also to limit the activity of the main production pathways of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in diabetic patients.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
Keywords: Antioxidant; antidiabetic; curcumin; α-amylase; α-glucosidase.