Application Progress of Biotechnology in the Research of Natural α-Glucosidase Inhibitors

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder disease that seriously threatens human health, meanwhile, owing to its serious complications and long treatment process, diabetes brings huge economic burden to patients. In recent years, investigation of high efficiency, low cost and multi-target α - glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs) has become a hot topic world widely. Attributed to the advantages of rich sources, mild efficacy, less adverse reactions, natural AGIs are popularly applied in the treatment of diabetes and its complications. The rapid development of biotechnologies, including microbial fermentation, enzyme engineering, molecular docking, metabolomics, and synthetic biology, provides novel strategies for the screening, optimization, and mechanism analysis of natural AGIs. In this article, the recent application progresses of biotechnology in the natural AGIs were systematically reviewed. The major contents included AGIs screening and mechanism visualization analysis guided by molecular docking technology, inhibitory activity modification and improvement of AGIs based on complex microbial metabolic networks and enzyme systems, biocatalytic preparation of biological peptides with α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and the application of synthetic biology and metabolomics in AGI synthesis. This article aims to provide theoretical basis and technical reference for the exploration and application of natural AGIs.