| Symbol: | A_amylase_inhib |
| A_amylase_inhib | |
| Pfam: | PF01356 |
| Interpro: | IPR000833 |
| Scop: | 1hoe |
In molecular biology, alpha-amylase inhibitor (or α-...) is a protein family which inhibits mammalian alpha-amylases specifically, by forming a tight stoichiometric 1:1 complex with alpha-amylase. This family of inhibitors has no action on plant and microbial alpha amylases.
They are found in raw plants/herbs such as cinnamon and bacteria (containing the inhibitor acarbose).[1] [2]
A crystal structure has been determined for tendamistat, the 74-amino acid inhibitor produced by Streptomyces tendae that targets a wide range of mammalian alpha-amylases.[3] The binding of tendamistat to alpha-amylase leads to the steric blockage of the active site of the enzyme. The crystal structure of tendamistat revealed an immunoglobulin-like fold that could potentially adopt multiple conformations. Such molecular flexibility could enable an induced-fit type of binding that would both optimise binding and allow broad target specificity.
The intake of a single dose of alpha-amylase inhibitor before a meal containing complex carbohydrates clearly suppresses the glucose spike and may decrease the postprandial hyperglycemia (higher than 140 mg/dL; >7.8 mmol/L) in patients with type II diabetes. This ability is observed in the native/raw state of the alpha-amylase inhibitor; however, its consumption inside a meal that undergo heating (baking, frying or cooking/boiling) is expected to blunt its property to decrease the activity of carbohydrate digesting enzymes.[4]
The benefits of alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors on health were shown to be stronger when the powder is consumed orally dissolved in water as a beverage in comparison to its intake as ordinary hard gelatin capsules.