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Absorption of Polyethylene Glycol Oligomers (330–1122 Da) Is Greater in the Jejunum than in the Ileum of Rats¹

Department of Pharmacy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

Intestinal permeability to polyethylene glycols (PEG) was measured simultaneously in jejunum and ileum of anesthetized rats. Using a mixture of PEG (400, 600 and 1000), which contained oligomers in the molecular weight (MW) range from 330 to 1122 Da, the MW permeability dependence of the rat small intestine was examined, employing an in situ recirculation perfusion technique. Individual oligomers of PEG were determined by HPLC with refractive index detection. Based on loss of oligomer from the reservoir, the permeabilities of the jejunum and ileum exhibited similar molecular weight dependencies. The apparent permeabilities were inversely proportional to MW² in both jejunum and ileum (r = 0.99, P < 0.05). In the range studied, a distinct molecular weight cutoff was not identified at either site. Over the molecular weight range from 330 to 1122 Da (and corrected for the length of each segment) the apparent permeability (P_app) of PEG ranged from 29.54 ± 0.51 (mean ± SEM, n = 5) to 1.69 ± 0.08 µm/min in the jejunum, and from 18.97 ± 0.47 to 0.74 ± 0.05 µm/min in the ileum, indicating that the absorption of PEG oligomers is significantly greater in the jejunum than in the ileum (P < 0.05). A near constant ratio of jejunal/ileal permeabilities of 1.6 for the various oligomers (MW range from 330 to 990 Da) suggested that the major difference in the two sites is in the number, rather than the size distribution of the aqueous filled channels, possibly due to a difference in effective surface area for absorption.

KEY WORDS: • absorption • polyethylene glycols • molecular weight • permeability • small intestine • rats

¹ The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

² To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Hallym University, Chunchon, Kangwon-do, 200-702, Korea.

Manuscript received 27 November 1995. Revision accepted 20 May 1996.