ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:To study the absorption features of Silymarin enteric coated-polyllactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles in rat in situ intestine perfusion model and colonic adenoma Caco-2 cell model. METHODS:HPLC method was used to determine the content of silymarin. The absorption rate constant(Ka)and apparent absorption coefficient(Kapp)of Silymarin sus-pension,Silymarin PLGA nanoparticles and Silymarin enteric coated-PLGA nanoparticles were investigated in duodenum,jejunum, ileum and colon of rat in situ intestine perfusion model;the apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) of those drugs containing low-concentration,medium-concentration and high-concentration(20,40,60 μg/mL)of silymarin in Caco-2 cell model were also investigated. RESULTS:Compared with Silymarin suspension,Ka and Kapp of Silymarin PLGA nanoparticles and Silymarin enteric coated-PLGA nanoparticles were all increased in duodenum,jejunum,ileum and colon(P0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Silymarin enteric coated-PLGA nanoparticles can effectively increase the intestinal ab-sorption,cellular uptake and transmembrane transport rate of silymarin.