Stability of orally administered immunoglobulin in the gastrointestinal tract

Oral administration of immunoglobulin in the colostrum or egg yolk has been considered an effective tool for preventing enterobacterial infection via passive immunization. During this process, the transmission and residence of the active immunoglobulin are the most important conditions for successful protection. We investigated the stability of encapsulated colostrum and egg yolk immunoglobulin for the effective transmission of immunoglobulin in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. First, we measured GI transit time. Contrast media passed through and reached the stomach within 10 min, the small intestine within 3.5 h, and the cecum within 5 h. Both the encapsulated colostrum containing anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibody (IgG) and egg yolk with anti-rotavirus antibody (IgY) showed lower antibody activity than the non-encapsulated colostrum did in the stomach after administration; however, significantly higher antibody activities were observed in the encapsulated groups than in the non-encapsulated groups in the small intestine 3.5 h after the administration. In the large intestine, the antibody activities of the encapsulated groups were maintained or slightly increased in a time-dependent manner; however, the titers of each non-capsulated control were as low as the negative controls. Therefore, this encapsulation is considered a useful tool for the delivery of active antibody through the GI tract.