Based on molecular modelling studies of Sandostatin(R), sugar-based derivatives I-VI were prepared as potential non-peptide mimics of somatostatin/Sandostatin(R). These compounds displaced 3-[I-125]-Tyr(11)-SRIF-14 from the somatostatin receptor on membranes of rat cerebral cortex with IC50 values between 10 and 15 mu M. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd