This drug restores early insulin secretion. Stimulates rapid, short action insulin, and blunts the after meal blood glucose rise, which can cause long term damage to organs.

The drug is taken immediately before main meals and then acts to promote the beta cells to produce the insulin that would normally be produced during the digestion of the meal. The insulin that is produced causes the muscle and fat cells to take up the glucose that is released into the blood after the meal. This drugs binds to specific receptors, the sulfonylurea receptors on the pancreatic beta cells. This form of the inhibitor is between one and two orders of magnitude than the other similar drug, sulfonylureas. The drug is rapidly absorbed, and also rapidly cleared. This helps the patient to regenerate the insulin production level they had before the disease set in.

Nateglinide Structure