Combination therapy of bioactive compounds with acarbose: A proposal to control hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic metabolic disease with a high impact on public health and social welfare. Hyperglycemia is a characteristic of T2D that leads to different complications. Acarbose (ACB) reduces hyperglycemia by inhibiting alpha-amylase (AMY) and alpha-glucosidase (GLU) enzymes. However, ACB causes low adherence to treatment by patients with diabetes due to its side effects. Consequently, reducing the side effects produced by ACB without compromising its efficacy is a challenge in treating T2D. Bioactive compounds (BC) are safe and could decrease the side effects compared to antidiabetic drugs such as ACB. Nevertheless, their efficacy alone concerning that drug is unknown. The scientific advances have been directed toward searching for new approaches, such as combination therapies between BC and ACB. This review analyzes the combined therapy of BC (extracts or isolates) with ACB in inhibiting AMY and GLU as a proposal to control hyperglycemia in T2D. Practical application Postprandial hyperglycemia is one most typical signs of type 2 diabetes, and it can have significant consequences, including cardiovascular problems. Acarbose has side effects that lead to the abandonment of treatment. Bioactive compounds in extracts or isolated forms have become a viable option for controlling hyperglycemia without side effects, but their administration alone is insufficient. The scientific advances of acarbose/bioactive compound combination therapy as a proposal for controlling hyperglycemia in T2D were analyzed. The findings suggested that bioactive compounds combined with acarbose are effective when they function synergistically or additively; however, they are not recommended in therapy when they have an antagonistic effect.