mehdi sahmani

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in world. Patient survival is less than 5%. However, early diagnosis of this cancer is very essential. In this article, we studied molecular pathology, epigenetic change in pancreatic cancer, and discussed the effect of methylation in inception and development of pancreatic cancer. By studying and identifying the genes methylated in this cancer, we can utilize them as biomarkers to be used to diagnose this cancer in a timely manner. Pancreatic cancer is realized as a multistage process characterized by the accumulation of genetic alterations companioned by typical histological conversion in pancreatic ductal cells. DNA methylation is one of the key changes in epigenetics in DNA structure. DNA methylation pattern as biomarker has explicit applications in diagnosis of cancers. Extensive disturbances of DNA methylation have been observed in cancer, causing changes in regulation of gene expression, developing oncogenesis. Understanding both epigenetic changes and DNA mutations promises for improving the characterization of malignancy to predict prognosis and treatment response. By recognition and understanding of molecular pathways and gene changes in this cancer, numerous drugs have been tested for targeted treatment that will allow identifying whole methylation patterns to recognize biomarkers for prognosis and early diagnosis of this cancer in future. By identifying pathways and aberrant methylation, screening and diagnosis are more and more necessary at early stages.

Pancreatic lipase is a major digestive enzyme in digestion and absorption of fats.  Inhibition of the pancreatic lipase activity has always been one of the goals of researchers to control obesity and related disorders. Current inhibitory agents have several side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of Ferula persica, Ginkgo biloba, Nelumbo nucifera, and Dicyclomine on pancreatic lipase activity.

In this experimental study, Ferula persica, Ginkgo biloba, and Nelumbo nucifera were extracted by soxhlet method. Methanolic or aqueous extracts of plants and dicyclomine at 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 μg/ml were prepared and their inhibitory effect on a fixed concentration of commercial pancreatic lipase were investigated. The combined extracts of Ferula persica and Nelumbo nucifera were also applied to the enzyme at the ratio of 1:3, 2:2, 3:1, and without quotas. Lipase activity was measured based on the release of methyl resorphine as colorimetric assay.

Extracts of Ferula persica and Nelumbo nucifera alone or combined in a ratio of 1:2 at 50 μg/ml led to further decrease in pancreatic lipase activity compared to the unexposed enzyme. Ginkgo biloba and Dicyclomine did not show any considerable inhibitory effect at concentrations and ratios studied.

The extracts of Ferula persica and Nelumbo nucifera, alone or in combination, showed inhibitory effect on pancreatic lipase activity. Further studies, especially clinical trials are suggested to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these compounds.

 Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α) gene, as an inflammatory factor, plays an important role in reproductive physiology, especially in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

 This study aims to investigate the relationship between the -1031 T/C polymorphism of TNF-α gene and biochemical factors in women with PCOS.

 In this case-control study, participants were 106 women with PCOS and 114 healthy women referred to Kosar Hospital in Qazvin, Iran. The TNF-α gene’s polymorphism was determined using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique and PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Biochemical factors of serum levels were also measured in two groups. Logistic regression analysis examined the relationship between the frequency of alleles in different states and the risk of PCOS.

 There were statistically significant difference in the mean levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, testosterone, two-hour blood glucose and body mass index between the groups, whose values were higher in women with PCOS compared to healthy women (P<0.001). In women with PCOS, the mean serum levels of triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein were significantly different between the three TT, CC, TC genotypes of TNF-α gene polymorphism (P<0.05). The results of regression analysis showed that the TT genotype had significant association with the risk of PCOS (OR=2.43, P=0.006, 95%CI: 1.28-2.62).

 It seems that there is a relationship between the -1301 (T/C) polymorphism of TNF-α gene and the risk of PCOS in women.

 Preeclampsia is a complex disorder of pregnancy with an unknown etiology. Numerous studies have shown the possible role of gene polymorphisms, especially metalloproteinases, in development of this disease, but there are no definitive results.

 This study aims to investigate the possible association between rs3918242 (−1562C>T) polymorphism in Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) gene with the risk of preeclampsia in pregnant women.

 In this cross-sectional study, participants were 90 pregnant women with preeclampsia and 199 healthy pregnant women (controls). The genotypes of rs3918242 polymorphism were investigated using Polymerase Chain Reaction technique and Limited Fragment Length Polymorphism method. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between rs3918242 polymorphism and preeclampsia. 

 The frequency of CC, CT, TT genotypes of rs3918242 polymorphism was reported 47.8%, 47.8% and 4.2% in patients and 84.8, 13.1 and 2% in controls, respectively, and the difference between groups was significant (P<0.001). The frequency of TT genotype in patients was significantly higher than in controls (P<0.001). Moreover, the frequency of T allele in patients was 52.2%, while in controls it was 15.2% and the difference between the two groups was significant (P<0.001).

 The rs3918242 polymorphism of MMP9 gene plays an important role in the incidence of preeclampsia in pregnant women.

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that has the ability to alter gene expression and function. These epigenetic changes have been associated with the development of cancer. Previous research has found that DNA methylation patterns can predict disease prognosis for patients with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL). The role of DNMT1 and CDH1 in regulating the extension of cells are studied in this study.

DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of APL patients and treated with bisulfite. DNMT1 and CDH1 gene promoter methylation was subsequently analyzed using methylation-specific PCR (MSP). Real-time PCR was used to measure the expression level of DNMT1 and CDH1 genes.

Partial methylation of the CDH1 gene promoter was detected in 20% of APL patients and an unmethylated status was detected in 80% of patient samples. Additionally, an unmethylated status in the DNMT1 gene promoter was detected in 100% of APL patient samples.

Our study found the CDH1 gene promoter to be unmethylated in almost all APL patients, while the DNMT1 promoter was unmethylated in all APL patients. Furthermore, we observed an increase in both CDH1 and DNMT1 gene expression in APL patients compared to healthy controls. These findings suggest that DNMT1 may not have a specific role in inhibiting CDH1 gene expression in APL. Applying higher resolution techniques would help to better uncover the DNA methylation patterns in patients with APL. Further research is required to determine the role of DNA methylation and CDH1 and DNMT1 gene expression in APL.

Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most common malignancy in men, accounting for 12.5% of total number of cancers. The development of molecular studies (such as transcriptomics analysis) helps to characterization of Cancer, development of new targets for therapy, and introduction of the novel prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers. Recent studies have confirmed Mammalian Sterile 20-Like kinase (MST1) as a tumor suppressor gene. In this study we focus on MST1 expression level in WBC of PC patients, due to inheritance pattern of PC. Material and This case-control study was conducted in two groups (20 patients with PC and 20 healthy individuals). After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, quantitative Real-Time PCR was done in order to determine the MST1 expression level. GAPDH was considered as internal control gene. Statistical analysis was performed by “Rotor-Gene Q series software 2.3.1” and “Rest 2.0.13 software”. the study on 20 PC patients aged 50 to 70 years old and 20 healthy individuals shown that MST1 expression level in the WBC samples of PC patients have been reduced ≈62% compared to normal individuals. Introducing of reduced expression level of MST1 as a prostate cancer biomarker needs to more complementary studies. But in this study, biomarker validation potential of MST1 has been approved.

Hypercoagulable states (HS) can result from several different inherited and acquired disease conditions that cause abnormalities in the genes, proteins and cellular factors involved in the coagulation cascade. Novel insight into the molecular mechanisms involved in the coagulation pathways can provide a framework to develop improved therapeutics to treat patients with coagulation disorders. Therefore, investigating the genetic abnormalities present in patients with coagulation disorders can offer critical insight into disease pathogenesis. Our study aimed to assess the promoter methylation patterns of the phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) gene as a potential underlying factor involved in HS. To measure the differences between the mRNA expression of PTEN in HS patients and healthy individuals we used qRT-PCR. Following bisulfite conversion, the promoter methylation status was analyzed using methylation specific PCR. The two-tailed student t-test was used to analyze the quantitative data. The data was considered statistically significant with a p value <0.05. Our findings reveal PTEN to be down-regulated by 30% in the blood samples of HS patients when compared to healthy controls. The MSP data showed the PTEN promoter region to be un-methylated in both patients and healthy individuals. Since no differences in the methylation patterns of the PTEN gene was found between HS patients and controls, this suggests that DNA methylation of the PTEN promoter may not be a significant contributing epigenetic modification involved in the development HS. However, MSP may not be able to detect subtle changes in DNA methylation status. Thus, using an alternative high resolution technique may more accurately indicate differences in the PTEN promoter methylation status in HS patients.

Bone surgery as a current bone treatment method is not always successful to fulfil bone repair in bone degenerative diseases or extensive injuries. Due to the limited capacity of bone remodeling, the demand for alternative approaches remains to be met. Thus, efforts in ex vivo generation of bone forming cells, osteoblasts, and their further application in cell therapy as a promising approach are of vital prominence from a scientific perspective. Though several studies have focused on microRNA roles in osteoblast differentiation in various cell recourses, yet none has reported miR-210 enhancing role in human mesynchymal stem cells (MSCs) so far.

Hence, we wished to examine the nature of the relationship between osteoblast differentiation and miR-210 in unique human mesynchymal stem cells, unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs). Osteoblast markers at gene level namely, Runx2, col I in addition to osteocalcin were assessed using qRT-PCR, and Alizarin Red S staining was also carried out to observe histochemical changes 7 days following miR-210 transduction.

The conclusion that follows from our findings represents a marked increase in osteoblast differentiation markers. Interestingly, for the first time, human USSCs differentiation into osteoblasts was performed in our research.

our study may provide helpful insights into surmounting bone related issues by combination of both gene and cell therapy.

There is scarce data on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E co-supplementation on metabolic status in patients with fibrocystic breast disease (FBD). The current study was carried out to determine the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E co-supplementation on metabolic status in patients with FBD.
A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 56 patients with FBD. Participants were randomly divided into two groups to receive either 1000 mg omega-3 fatty acids plus 400 mg vitamin E (n = 28) or placebo (n = 28) for 12 weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken at the beginning of the study and after 12 weeks of intervention to determine inflammatory factors, biomarkers of oxidative stress, and metabolic profiles.
After 12 weeks of intervention, changes in serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (-2171.4 ± 3189.1 vs. .9 ± 2774.8 ng/mL, P = 0.001) and plasma nitric oxide (.8 ± 4.0 vs. -0.1 ± 2.4 µmol/L, P = 0.04) in supplemented women were significantly different from those in the placebo group. In addition, compared to the placebo group, subjects who consumed omega-3 fatty acids plus vitamin E supplements had significantly decreased serum insulin concentrations (-3.2 ± 6.5 vs. -0.2 ± 1.7 µIU/mL, P = 0.01), the homeostasis model of assessment-estimated insulin resistance (-0.8 ± 1.7 vs. -0.02 ± 0.4, P = 0.03), serum triglycerides levels (-11.5 ± 47.3 vs. .6 ± 24.3 mg/dL, P = 0.03) and VLDL-cholesterol (-2.3 ± 9.5 vs. .1 ± 4.9 mg/dL, P = 0.03), as well as increased quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (.01 ± 0.01 vs. .001 ± 0.007, P = 0.001) and HDL-cholesterol (.4 ± 6.0 vs. -1.3 ± 4.3 mg/dL, P = 0.001).
Overall, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E co-supplementation for 12 weeks had beneficial effects on inflammatory markers and metabolic profiles in patients with FBD.

Bone is formed through the processes of endochondral and intramembranous ossification. In endochondral ossification primary mesenchymal cells differentiate to chondrocytes and then are progressively substituted by bone, while in intramembranous ossification mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiate directly into osteoblasts to form bone. The steps of osteogenic proliferation, differentiation, and bone homeostasis are controlled by various markers and signaling pathways. Bone needs to be remodeled to maintain integrity with osteoblasts, which are bone-forming cells, and osteoclasts, which are bone-degrading cells.
In this review we considered the major factors and signaling pathways in bone formation; these include fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), wingless-type (Wnt) genes, runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and osteoblast-specific transcription factor (osterix or OSX).

Iron chelation therapy is used to reduce iron overload development due to its deposition in various organs such as liver and heart after regular transfusion. In this review, different iron chelators implicated in treatment of iron overload in various clinical conditions have been evaluated using more up-to-date studies focusing on these therapeutic agents. Deferoxamine, Deferiprone and Deferasirox are the most important specific US FDA-approved iron chelators. Each of these chelators has their own advantages and disadvantages, various target diseases, levels of deposited iron and clinical symptoms of the afflicted patients which may affect their selection as the best modality. Taken together, in many clinical disorders, choosing a standard chelator does not have an accurate index which requires further clarifications. The aim of this review is to introduce and compare the different iron chelators regarding their advantages and disadvantages, usage dose and specific applications.

In this study, we compared the effect of ibuprofen (IB) while incorporating by Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA) nanofiber on expression of adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in a mice adhesion model.
Using an adhesion model were induced in mice, PLGA-IB and PLGA membranes and IB were sutured between the abdominal wall and peritoneum after surgical operation to reveal the best membrane for prevention of postoperative adhesion bands by comparison of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression.
Compared with other groups, PLGA-IB showed a greater ability to reduce ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression.
These results suggested that in considering the FDA approved polymers, PLGA-IB could be introduced as a potential candidate for prevention of abdominal post-surgery inflammation and adhesion band formation after surgeries.

Rotavirus group A (RVA) is recognized as a major cause of severe gastroenteritis in children and new-born animals. Nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) is responsible for the enterotoxic activity of these viruses in the villus epithelial cells. Amino acids 114-135 of NSP4 are known to form the diarrhea-inducing region of this viral enterotoxin. Therefore, developing an NSP4 lacking the enterotoxin domain could result in the introduction of a new subunit vaccine against rotaviruses in both humans and animals.
The aim of this study is the evaluation of rotavirus A NSP4 expression in E. coli expression system before and after removal of the diarrhea-inducing domain, which is the first step towards further immunological studies of the resulting protein.
Splicing by overlap extension (SOEing) PCR was used to remove the diarrhea-inducing sequence from the NSP4 cDNA. Both the full-length (FL-NSP4) and the spliced (S-NSP4) cDNA amplicons were cloned into pET-32c and pGEX-6P-2. Expression levels of the recombinant proteins were evaluated in E. coli BL21 (DE3) by Western blot analysis. In addition, the toxicity of pET plasmids bearing the S-NSP4 and FL-NSP4 fragments was investigated by plasmid stability test.
For FL-NSP4, protein expression was detected for the strain containing the pGEX:FL-NSP4 plasmid, but not for the strain carrying pET:FL-NSP4. Hourly sampling up to 3 h showed that the protein production decreased by time. In contrast, expression of S-NSP4 was detected for pET:S-NSP4 strain, but not for pGEX:S-NSP4. Plasmid stability test showed that pET:S-NSP4 recombinant plasmid was almost stable, while pET:FL-NSP4 was unstable.
This is the first report of production of rotavirus NSP4 lacking the diarrhea-inducing domain (S-NSP4). S-NSP4 shows less toxicity in this expression system and potentially could be a promising goal for rotavirus immunological and vaccine studies in the future.

FGFR2b plays a significant role in cell signaling pathway, regulating several key biological processes including cellular differentiation and proliferation. Genetic alterations of the tyrosine kinase domain of FGFR2b, such as point mutations, occur in breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. This study aimed to express and zepurify the human FGFR2b kinase domain and to analyze its structural changes upon interaction with Gallic acid (GA). Expression of recombinant protein was induced with 1mM IPTG at 37 ºC and analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The protein was purified via affinity chromatography and the protein sample was dialyzed and then used to be analyzed via SDS-PAGE. Chemical denaturation and intrinsic fluorescence spectra of the purified proteins were carried out via adding different concentrations of Gallic acid. Comparison between pre- and post-induction samples via SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the expressed protein was soluble at 20 ºC. Additionally, its purity was confirmed. The intrinsic fluorescence spectra of kinase domain in the presence of Gallic acid showed an increase in fluorescence intensity and maximum emission wavelength. Regarding to the results, the recombinant kinase domain of FGFR2b (38 kDa) was expressed, solubilized and purified. Changing in tertiary structural kinase domain reflects a conformational change within the protein that is important for the biological function of FGFR2b.

Early diagnosis and treatment of leukemia patients remains a fundamental aim in clinical oncology, especially in developing country. Present study highlights the basic requirements of these patients in Iran. Better understanding of these issues may lead to improve the healthcare standards toward leukemia diagnosis and treatment. This descriptive study included 101 specialists in hematology-oncology and pathology serving in oncology centers. The participants were then asked to fill out a standard questionnaire on the issues around diagnosis and treatment of blood malignancies. According to specialists, unfair distribution of facilities across the country, delayed diagnosis of disease, absence of psychological support for patients, and insufficient financial support were the main reasons of inappropriate diagnosis and treatment in leukemia patients. Our results show that making an amendment to health policies by preparing well-equipped medical centers in all provinces, improving the morale of patients through consultation during the process of treatment, and above all, subsiding leukemia patients'' financial problems will promote the health standard regarding the leukemia diagnosis and treatment in Iran.

Vast variety of intermediate factors including cell cycle regulators, growth factors, transcription factors, and signaling pathways are involved in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) commitment and differentiation into distinct lineages. VHL, Ecad, and RUNX3 are among these. Epigenetics is currently introduced as a potential mechanism to control the gene regulation. The aim of this study is to reveal the correlation between the expression level and methylation pattern of mentioned genes after in vitro differentiation of cord blood HSCs into erythroid lineage mediated by erythropoietin. After isolation and expansion, the CD34+ cord blood stem cells were divided into two parts. The first part was used to extract the DNA and RNA and the second to differentiate into erythroid lineage. Methylation specific PCR (MSP) and Real-time PCR were used to determine the methylation status and expression levels of the genes, respectively. Although the significant upregulation observed for VHL and Ecad genes and a down-regulation for RUNX3 gene after differentiation, no remarkable changes were seen in methylation pattern compared with cord blood HSCs by MSP technique. It is appearing that methylation pattern in promoter region has not an effective role in expression of VHL, Ecad, and RUNX3. Moreover, considering the inability of MSP method to detect subtle differences in methylation level a more sensitive method is needed to distinguish the methylation levels of these genes before and after erythroid differentiation.

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease resulting from complex interactions between genetic, hormonal, environmental and oxidative stress and intrinsic inflammatory components. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential association of the 763C>G polymorphism in the secretory phospholipase A2 group IIa gene (PLA2G2A) with the risk of endometriosis in Iranian women. Ninety seven patients with endometriosis along with 107 women who were negative for endometriosis after laparoscopy and laparatomy, and served as the control group, were enrolled for this cross-sectional study. Samples were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Multivariate analysis was used to examine the association between the risk of endometriosis and the 763C>G polymorphism of PLA2G2A. Genotype distributions of PLA- 2G2A were significantly different between patients and the controls (p<0.001, OR=0.22, 95% CI=0.21-0.39). Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant association between the normal homozygous genotype and susceptibility to endometriosis (p<0.001). The present study suggests that the 763C>G polymorphism of PLA2G2A plays an important role as an independent factor in the risk of endometriosis in Iranian women.

Several influential factors such as transcription factors and intracellular signaling components are involved in differentiation of stem cells into a specific lineage. P15 and p16 proteins are among these factors. Accumulating evidences has introduced the epigenetic as a master regulator of these factors during lineage specification. The main objective of this study is to determine the correlation between the expression level and methylation pattern of P15 and P16 genes in erythroid lineage after in vitro differentiation by erythropoietin (EPO). The purified and expanded CD34+ cord blood stem cells were differentiated into erythroid lineage in the presence of EPO. DNA was isolated from both cord blood stem cells and differentiated cells. The Real-Time PCR performed using cDNA and the isolated DNA was used in methylation Specific PCR (MSP) reaction for methylation pattern analysis in both pre and post differentiation stages. The study demonstrated that P15 and P16 genes have partial methylation after erythroid differentiation by EPO. The Expression of P15 gene was higher after differentiation and the expression of P16 gene had a slightly decreased level in post differentiation stage. Significant increase in P15 gene expression after differentiation to erythroid lineage, suggests the remarkable efficacy of this gene in erythroid function. According to upregulation of P15 gene after differentiation despite unchanged methylation status and slight down regulation of P16 gene with slight hyper-methylation of the gene it can be suggested that although the methylation can affects the expression level of P16 gene, the P15 gene is not affected by this mechanism during erythroid differentiation mediated by EPO.

Evaluation of the factors associated with treatment process of leukemia and comparison with current related approaches in developed countries can present a good indicator to assess the weak and strong points in healthcare system of our country in leukemia treatment. The objective of this research is general and specific description of the challenges and shortcomings in Iranian healthcare system and monitoring of hematologic malignancies as well as comparison with developed countries. Our study is a descriptive-cross-sectional study. 100 hemato-oncologist, pathologists, and faculty members throughout the country were selected by random cluster sampling. Data collected using questionnaires with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.76. SPSS and Chi-square test were used for data analysis. According to the specialists, lack of advanced diagnostic facilities as well as cell and BM banks together with high treatment expenses are the main factors contributing to poor treatment processes in Iran, which are far from worldwide standards.The use of novel currently methods used in developed countries for leukemia treatment, financial and psychological support of patients under treatment, making underprivileged provinces well-equipped, balanced specialist service distribution relative to capital city either in diagnosis or treatment are factors which makes system standardized. Moreover, integrated institutional work in relation to leukemia incidence and statistical analysis of mortality and morbidity rate can pave the way for reducing and eliminating the problems in diagnosis and treatment of leukemia patients.

Peroxisome proliferative-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear receptors that involved in cellular lipid metabolism and differentiation. The subtype? of the PPAR family (PPAR?) plays important roles in physiologic functions of ovaries. To determine correlation between PPAR? protein level in granulosa cells and pregnancy rate in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. In this cross-sectional study, twenty-five samples of granulosa cells were collected from women referred to an IVF treatment center. PPAR? protein expression level in granulosa cells was determined in comparison with? -actin level as control gene with Western blot test. Laboratory pregnancy was determined by a rise in blood? -hCG level fourteen days after embryo transfer. Correlation analyses were used to test for associations between the oocytes and pregnancy occurrence as outcome variables and PPAR? protein expression level. Correlation analysis indicated that there was no significant relationship between granulosa cells PPAR? protein level with IVF parameters including number of matured oocytes and the ratio of fertilized to matured oocytes. Comparison of granulosa cells PPAR? protein level with positive and negative laboratory pregnancy revealed also no significant relationship. According to the results of this study, PPAR? protein level in granulosa cells could not be directly correlated to the success rate of IVF.

Background – Acarbose is known to lower blood glucose concentration by functioning as an α-glucosidase inhibitor in the intestine. It is also suggested that acarbose may directly arrest the intestinal absorption of hexoses. The purpose of the present study was to further elucidate the normal intestinal absorption of hexoses and the effect of acarbose on the rate of intestinal absorption of monosaccharides in normal and streptozocin-induced diabetic rats. Methods – Segments of small intestine, as everted sacs, from normal and diabetic rats were incubated in solutions of various concentrations of monosaccharides, with and without acarbose, at 37ºC for 90 min and the sugar concentration was measured before and after incubation. Student’s t-test with p < 0.05 was used to compare the mean ± standard error of the mean values for intestinal absorption rates of various sugars in different groups of rats. Results – The optimum effective dose of most sugars for intestinal absorption was 100 mg/dL and the best inhibitory dose of acarbose was 1 mg/mL. The rate of intestinal absorption of glucose and galactose in the presence of acarbose was significantly reduced in both normal and diabetic rats, while fructose and sucrose absorption was not affected significantly by acarbose in diabetic rats. Mannose absorption was not affected significantly by acarbose. Conclusion – Acarbose directly arrested the intestinal absorption of most hexoses at different rates, probably due to different mechanisms involved in the intestinal absorption of monosaccharides.