Nutr Res Pract.  2008 Mar;2(1):17-21.

Plasma, tissue and urinary levels of aloin in rats after the administration of pure aloin

• Park MY
• Kwon HJ
• Sung MK

Abstract

Aloin is a physiologically active anthraquinone present in aloe. There are two isomers of aloin, aloin A and aloin B, occurring as a mixture of diastereomers. The objective of this study was to determine the bioavailability and tissue distribution of aloin. Rats were gavaged with 11.8g/kg aloin, and the levels of aloin and its conjugates were measured in plasma, tissues, and urine. Plasma aloin level showed a peak at 1hr after the administration and the concentration was 59.07+/-10.5 ng/ml. The 24 h cumulated urinary aloin was 0.03% of the initial dose. These results suggest that aloin is absorbed and reaches a peak plasma level within 1-1.5 h after the administration and a significant portion is possibly metabolized or is excreted in feces. These results can apply to the determination of the adequate intake level of aloe and aloe products to achieve the desired biological effect, and to interprete in vitro study results.

Keyword

Aloin; rats; plasma; tissue; urine

MeSH Terms

Aloe
Animals
Biological Availability
Emodin
Feces
Plasma
Rats
Tissue Distribution
Emodin

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Chemical structures of aloin A and aloin B

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  Fig. 2 Plasma concentration-time curve of aloin in rats after gavage administration of aloin at 11.8 g/kg rat body weight. Results are expressed as mean ± SD on a sample size of four rats/group

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  Fig. 3 Tissue concentration of aloins (aloin A, aloin B, conjugates) in rats after gavage administration of aloin at 11.8 g/kg rat body weight. Results are expressed as mean ± SD on a sample size of four rats/group.

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  Fig. 4 Urinary excretion of aloins (aloin A, aloin B, conjugates) in rats after gavage administration of aloin at 11.8 g/kg rat body weight. Results are expressed as mean±SD on a sample size of four rats/group.

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