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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