Mango seed kernel extract (MSKE) and its key components (gallic acid, GA; methyl gallate, MG; and pentagalloyl glucopyranose, PGG) have generated interest because of their pharmacological activities. To develop the potential use of the key components in MSKE as natural therapeutic agents, their pharmacokinetic data are necessary. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the factors affecting their oral bioavailability as pure compounds and as components in MSKE. The in vitro chemical stability, biological stability, and absorption were evaluated in Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution, Caco-2 cell and rat fecal lysates, and the Caco-2 cell model, respectively. The in vivo oral pharmacokinetic behavior was elucidated in Sprague-Dawley rats. The key components were unstable under alkaline conditions and in Caco-2 cell lysates or rat fecal lysates. The absorptive permeability coefficient followed the order MG > GA > PGG. The in vivo results exhibited similar pharmacokinetic trends to the in vitro studies. Additionally, the co-components in MSKE may affect the pharmacokinetic behaviors of the key components in MSKE. In conclusion, chemical degradation under alkaline conditions, biological degradation by intestinal cell and colonic microflora enzymes, and low absorptive permeability could be important factors underlying the oral bioavailability of these polyphenols.
Keywords: Caco-2 cells; Mangifera indica L.; fecal lysate; pentagalloyl glucopyranose; pharmacokinetic.