Looking glass inhibitors: L-DMDP, a more potent and specific inhibitor of alpha-glucosidases than the enantiomeric natural product DMDP.

L-DMDP, prepared from D-gulonolactone, is a highly specific inhibitor of a number of plant and mammalian alpha-glucosidases [between 2 and 4 orders of magnitude more potent than the enantiomeric natural product DMDP] but is not an inhibitor of bacterial and yeast alpha-glucosidases. Additionally N-butyl-DMDP is a potent inhibitor of ceramide-specific glucosyltransferase but N-butyl-L-DMDP shows no inhibition.