Please pass the salt - and the glucosidase inhibitors?

Two Burnaby-based SFU scientists are part of an international research team that has chemically mapped the molecular structure of one of the body's enzymes that helps convert starch into glucose.

The discovery could mean people will be able to better control diet-linked health problems, like obesity and Type II diabetes, by sprinkling a powdered glucose inhibitor on their food.

Chemists Mario Pinto and Sankar Mohan, a PhD student, are among six scientists who have just structurally characterized the human enzyme sucrase-isomaltase (SI), one of four enzymes in the body's intestinal lining. The enzyme helps break starch down into glucose.

"Now we're in a position to selectively (turn) one (enzyme) off and see what the effect is," said Pinto.

The scientists can do that by introducing another molecule, a glucose inhibitor, based on an ancient herbal remedy from Sri Lanka.

They want to control the level of glucose in the body because high levels can lead to the development of Type II diabetes and obesity.

The inhibitor molecule they are using comes from the Salacia reticulata plant, commonly known as Kothala Himbutu in Sri Lanka, Pinto's home country.

"This has been known for centuries for the treatment of Type II diabetes," Pinto said. "The natives would carve a mug out of the root of the plant and drink the water after it would steep, like a tea."

Pinto credits Mohan with synthesizing the inhibitors. In the future, its use could be as easy as adding salt to your food.

"One day, these inhibitors could be sprinkled on to food in a powder form to control starch digestion," Pinto said.

Because of Mohan's synthesizing work, scientists can now understand the plant's active ingredients, how they are working and if they are actually present in herbal extracts, Pinto said.

Pinto and Mohan presented their latest research with colleagues in the international starch digestion consortium at a workshop in Vancouver on June 12 and 13, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

jmoreau@burnabynow.com