Carbohydrate synthesis

Carbohydrate synthesis refers to the collective metabolic processes, including gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis, that produce sugars and polysaccharides within an organism (Berg et al., 2002). These pathways are essential for energy storage in the form of glycogen and for maintaining plasma glucose levels during fasting periods (Nelson & Cox, 2017). In humans, the dysregulation of carbohydrate synthesis, particularly overactive gluconeogenesis in the liver, is a primary driver of hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Herman & Birnbaum, 2021). Although 'Carbohydrate synthesis' represents a biological process rather than a single molecular target, many individual enzymes and regulatory proteins within these pathways serve as critical sites for drug intervention (Roden & Shulman, 2019). For example, drugs like Metformin work by suppressing hepatic glucose production, while alpha-glucosidase inhibitors prevent the synthesis of absorbable glucose from complex carbohydrates in the gut (Rena et al., 2017; StatPearls, 2023).

Other names

GluconeogenesisGlycogenesisSaccharide biosynthesisPolysaccharide synthesis

Inhibition of specific enzymes within carbohydrate metabolic pathways, such as alpha-glucosidase to prevent glucose release or modulation of gluconeogenesis enzymes like fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase.