A review on the in vitro and in vivo screening of α-glucosidase inhibitors.

As a global metabolic disease, the control and treatment of diabetes have always been the focus of medical research. α-Glucosidase is a key enzyme in regulating blood glucose levels and has important applications in the treatment of diabetes. This review aims to explore the enzyme activity of α-glucosidase and its inhibition mechanism and evaluate the efficacy and limitations of existing inhibitor screening methods. First, the chemical structure, biological activity, and influencing factors of α-glucosidase on diabetes are discussed in detail. Then, the various methods that have been used to screen α-glucosidase inhibitors in recent years are reviewed, including in vivo animal experiments, in vitro experiments, and virtual molecular docking. The experimental principles, advantages, and limitations of each method and their application in discovering new inhibitors are also discussed. Finally, this review emphasizes the importance of developing efficient and safe α-glucosidase inhibitors, summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of various screening models, and proposes future research directions. This review comprehensively examines the enzyme activity of α-glucosidase and the screening methods for α-glucosidase inhibitors, provides an important perspective in the field of diabetes drug discovery and development, and provides a reference for future research.