Hydroxynaphthoic acid is a salt part of discontinued drug Bephenium hydroxynaphthoate. It was also shown to have anti-diabetic effect in mice, acting as a chemical chaperone and reducing ER stress.

Ipragliflozin L-proline is a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. It was developed and marketed as Suglat® by Astellas cooperating with Kotobuki Pharmaceutical and Merck Sharp & Dohme, and approved by Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency of Japan (PMDA) on Jan 17, 2014. It is indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Tofogliflozin is a SGLT2 selective inhibitor which was developed by Chugai Pharmaceutical for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. The drug was approved in Japan in 2013 and it is being marketed under the names Apleway and Debereza.

Teneligliptin is a DPP IV inhibitor which was developed by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma and now is used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Asia under the name Tenelia.

Hydroxynaphthoic acid is a salt part of discontinued drug Bephenium hydroxynaphthoate. It was also shown to have anti-diabetic effect in mice, acting as a chemical chaperone and reducing ER stress.

Teneligliptin is a DPP IV inhibitor which was developed by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma and now is used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Asia under the name Tenelia.

Mitiglinide is a drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes currently marked under tradename Glufast. Glufast® is available as the tablet for oral use, containing 5 mg or 10 mg of Mitiglinide calcium hydrate. The recommended dose is 10 mg three times daily just before each meal (within 5 minutes). Mitiglinide was approved by Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency of Japan (PMDA) on January 29, 2004, and is currently co-marketed in Japan by Kissei and Takeda. Mitiglinide is a rapid-acting insulin secretion-stimulating agent, its belongs to the meglitinide (glinide) class of blood glucose-lowering drugs. Mitiglinide is thought to stimulate insulin secretion by closing the ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channels in pancreatic beta-cells.

Benfluorex under trade name Mediator was launched in 1976 for controlling blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. In 2009 this drug together with others medicines containing it was withdrawn because of the risk of heart valve disease. The mechanisms by which benfluorex reduces hepatic gluconeogenesis are markedly different from those of metformin, the main antidiabetic compound used in the world. It was suggested that inhibition of gluconeogenesis by benfluorex was, at least in part, due to a decrease in mitochondrial β-oxidation. First, benfluorex decreased acetyl-CoA concentration, which in turn would reduce pyruvate carboxylase activity and release its inhibitory effect on pyruvate dehydrogenase. Second, benfluorex decreased both the ATP-to-ADP and the NAD+-to-NADH ratios, leading to a reduced gluconeogenic flux at the level of 3-phosphoglycerate kinase and GAPDH. Changes in cellular redox state represent probably the main mechanism by which benfluorex reduces glucose production in hepatocytes.

Buformin (1-butylbiguanide) is an oral antidiabetic drug of the biguanide class. AMPK activator. AMPK is a potential therapeutic target in the prevention and the treatment of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Major classes of antidiabetic drugs have been reported to activate AMPK. Buformin exerts its anti-tumorigenic activity via activation of AMPK and inhibition of the mTOR signaling pathways in endometrial cancer cells. Toxicity: guinea pig LD50 subcutaneous 18 mg/kg; mouse LD50 intraperitoneal 140 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg oral. Buformin was withdrawn from the market in many countries due to an elevated risk of causing lactic acidosis.

Taurocholic acid is a bile acid and is the product of conjugation of cholic acid with taurine. Its sodium salt is the chief ingredient of the bile of carnivorous animals. Taurocholic acid, as with all bile acids, acts as a detergent to solubilize fats for absorption and is itself absorbed. It is used as a cholagogue and cholerectic (a bile purging agent). Hydrolysis of taurocholic acid yields taurine, a nonessential amino acid. Taurocholic acid is one of the main components of urinary nonsulfated bile acids in biliary atresia. Raised levels of the bile acid taurocholate in the fetal serum in obstetric cholestasis may result in the development of a fetal dysrhythmia and in sudden intra-uterine death. In medical use, it is administered as a cholagogue and choleretic. Taurocholic acid is a potent TGR5 ligand, and in dogs, colonic perfusion with TCA induces PYY secretion. TCA enemas could stimulate GLP-1 and PYY secretion in obese patients with type 2 diabetes receiving the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, sitagliptin. Satiogen Pharmaceuticals is developing rectally administered taurocholic acid, a bile acid, for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.