Liposomes containing cholesterol analogues of botanical origin as drug delivery systems to enhance the oral absorption of insulin

• Ergosterol could be a potential candidate for substituting cholesterol in liposomes.
• Liposomes containing ergosterol are more stable and have more pronounced protective ability for insulin in gastrointestinal tract than liposomes containing cholesterol and bile salts.
• Liposomes containing ergosterol can enhance the oral bioavailability of insulin significantly in comparison with conventional liposomes.

In fear of animal-associated diseases, there is a trend in searching for non-animal derived substitutes for existing excipients in the pharmaceutical industries. This paper aimed to screen cholesterol analogues as membrane stabilizers of liposomes from botanical sterols, including β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, ergosterol and lanosterol. Liposomes containing four kinds of sterols were prepared and evaluated in vitro and in vivo as oral delivery system of insulin. Liposomes containing β-sitosterol (Si-Lip), stigmasterol (St-Lip) and lanosterol (La-Lip) was found not to protect insulin against degradation. Only 10% of the initial insulin in liposomes was preserved after a 30 min exposure to simulated gastric fluids. However, the protective ability of liposomes containing ergosterol (Er-Lip) was similar to that of liposomes containing sodium glycocholate (Sgc-Lip) and superior to that of liposomes containing cholesterol (Ch-Lip). In addition, the blood glucose level can decrease to about 50% of initial level after oral Er-Lip which was significantly superior to the in vivo performance of Si-Lip and Ch-Lip and similar to Sgc-Lip. Er-Lips of ergosterol/phospholipids ratios of 1:4 or 1:6 exerts more pronounced protective ability of insulin in simulated gastrointestinal fluids and hypoglycemic effects in rats than other formulations. Furthermore, Er-Lips exerted low toxicity to Caco-2 cells through a cell viability study. Meahwhile, insulin permeability was significantly increased across Caco-2 monolayers by encapsulating in Er-Lip. It was concluded that ergosterol could be used as a substitute for cholesterol and bile salt derivatives in liposomes to enhance oral bioavailability of insulin.

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