Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Apr 16, 2026
Date Accepted: Jul 24, 2026
Oral acarbose inhibits baseline salivary amylase and blunts early postprandial glycemia: A randomized cross-over study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The effect of acarbose inhibition of salivary α-amylase (SAA) during starch chewing (an unusual mode of drug intake) on postprandial blood glucose (BG) has not been investigated.
Objective:
This study investigated whether SAA inhibition by acarbose affects postprandial BG in healthy individuals.
Methods:
This single-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized cross-over trial included four conditions: placebo (oligosaccharide; T1), swallowing 50 mg acarbose (T2), and simultaneous intake of starch with 50 mg or 100 mg acarbose (T3 and T4). Fifteen young, healthy women were enrolled.
Results:
Peak ΔBG occurred at 30-min in T1 and T2, occurred at 60-min in T3. ΔBG at 30-min was significantly lower in T3 and T4 than in T2, while BG-AUCs did not differ between T2 and T3.
Conclusions:
Inhibition of SAA by oral acarbose reduced the early postprandial increase in BG compared with intact SAA activity in healthy individuals. Clinical Trial: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, trial no. UMIN000057623
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