Hyaluronan (HA) has been utilized as a supplement. However, the absorption of orally administrated HA remains controversial. The degradation and absorption of HA in the intestine were investigated in this study. HA excretion into the feces, degradation in the intestinal tract, absorption through the large intestine, and translocation to the blood and skin were examined. HA administered orally was not detected in rat feces. HA was degraded by cecal content, but not by artificial gastric juice and intestinal juice. Oligosaccharide HA passed through excised large intestine sacs. Furthermore, disaccharides, tetrasaccharides, and polysaccharides HA were distributed to the skin of rats following oral administration of high molecular weight HA (300 kDa). The results of the study suggest that orally administered HA is degraded to oligosaccharides by intestinal bacteria, and oligosaccharide HA is absorbed in the large intestine and is subsequently distributed throughout the tissues, including the skin.
Egg whites (EW) are a good source of protein; however, they are typically heated prior to consumption. Therefore, we investigated the effects of different heating conditions on the protein utilisation rate of EW. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 36, 198 ± 1 g) were divided into six groups and fed American Institute of Nutrition-76 chow containing unheated EW, soft-boiled EW, boiled EW, milk whey protein, soybean protein, or no protein over a 10-day period using pair-feeding. Urine and faeces were sampled daily beginning on day 5 to measure nitrogen content and the net protein utilisation (NPU) rate. The soybean protein group had a significantly lower level of food intake and was thus excluded from subsequent analyses. The NPU value was similar among the unheated, soft-boiled, and boiled EW groups (97.5 ± 0.4, 96.5 ± 0.1, and 96.5 ± 0.7, resp.). The EW group values were significantly higher than the whey group values (90.5 ± 1.0). These results show that EW serve as a good source of protein, irrespective of heating.
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