miglitol miglitol miglitol is an oral anti-diabetic drug that acts by inhibiting the ability of the patient to break down complex carbohydrates into glucose. it is primarily used in diabetes mellitus type 2 for establishing greater glycemic control by preventing the digestion of carbohydrates (such as disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides) into monosaccharides which can be absorbed by the body. not to be confused with meglutol. miglitolclinical datatrade namesglysetahfs/drugs.commonographmedlineplusa601079license data us fda: miglitol pregnancycategory au: b3 routes ofadministrationby mouth (tablets)atc codea10bf02 (who) legal statuslegal status us: ℞-only pharmacokinetic databioavailabilitydose-dependentprotein bindingnegligible (<4.0%)metabolismnilelimination half-life2 hoursexcretionrenal (95%)identifiers iupac name (2r,3r,4r,5s)-1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-(hydroxymethyl)piperidine-3,4,5-triol cas number72432-03-2 ypubchem cid441314iuphar/bps4842drugbankdb00491 ychemspider390074 yunii0v5436jaqwkeggd00625 ychemblchembl1561 ycomptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid0023323 echa infocard100.069.670 chemical and physical dataformulac8h17no5molar mass207.226 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive imagedensity1.458 g/cm3melting point114 °c (237 °f) smiles occn1((o)(o)(o)c1)co inchi inchi=1s/c8h17no5/c10-2-1-9-3-6(12)8(14)7(13)5(9)4-11/h5-8,10-14h,1-4h2/t5-,6+,7-,8-/m1/s1 ykey:ibaqfpqhrjavav-ulawrxdqsa-n y (verify) miglitol, and other structurally-related iminosugars, inhibit glycoside hydrolase enzymes called alpha-glucosidases. since miglitol works by preventing digestion of carbohydrates, it lowers the degree of postprandial hyperglycemia. it must be taken at the start of main meals to have maximal effect. its effect will depend on the amount of non-monosaccharide carbohydrates in a person's diet. in contrast to acarbose (another alpha-glucosidase inhibitor), miglitol is systemically absorbed; however, it is not metabolized and is excreted by the kidneys.