In vitro transport of the steroidal glycoside P57 from Hoodia gordonii across excised porcine intestinal and buccal tissue

Hoodia gordonii was traditionally used by the Khoisan people as a thirst and appetite suppressant and is currently commercially available as a popular weight-loss supplement. The perceived active ingredient isolated from this plant is a steroidal glycoside named P57. This study aimed at investigating the in vitro transport of P57 across excised porcine intestinal and buccal mucosa in a Sweetana–Grass diffusion apparatus. For both the intestinal and buccal experiments, the transport of pure P57 was compared to that obtained from a crude plant extract. Bi-directional transport experiments were conducted across the intestinal tissue in two different media namely Krebs–Ringer bicarbonate buffer and simulated intestinal fluid. Apical-to-basolateral transport experiments were conducted across the buccal tissue in two different media namely Krebs–Ringer bicarbonate buffer and artificial saliva. Apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) and flux values were calculated and analysed by means of a one-way repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine if differences were significant (p ≤ 0.05). The transport of pure P57 across intestinal tissue was significantly higher in the secretory direction than in the absorptive direction indicating efflux by membrane transporters. Much higher intestinal transport was obtained for P57 in both directions when applied in the form of a crude extract, possibly due to inhibition of efflux as indicated by lower secretory transport compared to absorptive transport. For the buccal tissue, no transport was obtained for the pure P57, while relatively high transport was obtained when applied in the form of a crude extract. Furthermore, the intestinal transport of P57 was significantly decreased when the crude extract was prepared in simulated intestinal fluid compared to when it was prepared in buffer. On the other hand, buccal transport was higher in artificial saliva than in buffer. It is therefore evident that the transport of P57 across mucosal tissues is significantly affected on exposure to conditions simulating the in vivo situation.