Type 2 diabetes mellitus has reached epidemic proportions; therefore, the search for novel antihyperglycemic drugs is intense. We have discovered that d-xylose increases the rate of glucose transport in a non-insulin-dependent manner in rat and human myotubes in vitro. Due to the unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties of d-xylose we aimed at synthesizing active derivatives with improved parameters. Quantitative structure− activity relationship ...