Insulinotropic action of 6-O-acyl-D-glucose esters.

Several 6-O-acyl-D-glucose esters were examined for their possible insulinotropic action in rats islets incubated for 90 minutes in the absence or presence of either D-glucose or L-leucine. As a rule, 6-O-acetyl-D-glucose and either medium- and long-chain acyl-D-glucose esters only exerted modest effects upon insulin release, much less pronounced than those previously recorded with hexose pentaacetate esters. Nevertheless, under suitable experimental conditions, 6-O-octanoyl-D-glucose and 6-O-decanoyl-D-glucose significantly augmented insulin output, suggesting that such esters could be used, instead of D-glucose itself, as cell nutrients.