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Enzyme inhibitor's hydrolyzing carbohydrates, such as α-amylase, play an important role in the control of diabetes mellitus, particularly in patients with type 2 diabetes. In this study, we selected two medicinal plants recommended to treat diabetes in traditional North African medicine: Tetraclinis articulata and Trigonella foenum-graecum. The inhibition kinetics of α-amylase by extracts of these plants was studied by in vitro methods. Enzyme dissociation constants, terminal velocity, and inhibition constants were determined. The results revealed a dose-dependent inhibition of α-amylase with IC50 of 57.74 and 104.93 µg/ml for Trigonella foenum-graecum and Tetraclinis articulata, respectively. The extracts also showed a competitive inhibition of α-amylase by significantly varying the enzymatic dissociation constant from 6.79 mg/ml of the enzyme alone to 27.50 mg/ml with Tetraclinis articulata, and 23.42 mg/ml with Trigonella foenum-graecum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]