Montmorillonite adsorbs urea and accelerates urea excretion from the intestine

Hyperuraemia is one of the causes of uremia and renal failure. Decreasing serum urea level is an effective therapeutic method for patients with uremia and renal failure. Montmorillonite has very high affinity to various natural or synthetic toxins and has been widely used in biomedicine and clinical therapy. However, its effects on urea adsorption and excretion have not been fully explored. In the present studies, we systematically investigated the effects of montmorillonite on urea adsorption and excretion from the intestine. In vitro studies showed that montmorillonite concentration- and time-dependently adsorbed urea with high affinity. In vivo infusing urea into the blood vessel increased the urea concentration in the intestine, indicating that urea diffused from the blood vessels to the intestine. Infusing urea into the intestine increased the urea concentration in blood indicating that urea was absorbed in the intestine. Administrating montmorillonite in rat intestine significantly increased urea diffusion from the blood to the intestine and decreased urea absorption in the intestine. Orally administrating montmorillonite in normal mice as well as two types of model mice with acute hyperuraemia induced by orally administrating or intraperitoneally injecting urea, respectively, decreased blood urea levels. Our studies demonstrated that administrating montmorillonite has therapeutic potentials in patients with uremia.