Enzymatic synthesis of 2-deoxyglucose-containing maltooligosaccharides for tracing the location of glucose absorption from starch digestion

The ileal brake mechanism which induces a potentially beneficial slower gastric emptying rate and increased satiety is triggered by macronutrients including glucose from glycemic carbohydrates. For optimization of this diet-induced health benefit, there is the need for a way to determine the location of glucose deposition in the small intestine. Labeled 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) can be used to trace the location of glucose absorption due to its accumulative property in the small intestine enterocytes. However, because pure glucose, or 2-DG, is directly absorbed in the proximal small intestine, we designed 2-DG containing maltooligosaccharides (2-DG-MOs) that can be used with a mild α-glucosidase inhibitor to attain an analytical method for determining location-specific delivery of glucose and its physiological effect.