Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an antioxidant protein. When administered orally, it has low bioavailability due to its low permeation. In a previous study we fused gliadin peptide P51 (LGQQQPFPPQQPYPQPQPF) and gliadin peptide P61 (QQPYPQPQPF) with SOD Citrus limon (SOD_Cl), namely GliSOD_P51 and GliSOD_P61 to increase permeation of SOD_Cl through intestine. In this work, the permeation of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-Dextran 10 kDa, FD10 and 40 kDa, FD40 as paracellular transport markers across excised rat intestinal wall was investigated with the presence of GliSOD_P51 and GliSOD_P61. A permeability study was performed using non-everted rat intestine by incubating FD10 or FD40 with SOD_Cl, and GliSOD_P61. The presence of SOD_Cl, GliSOD_P51 or GliSOD_P61 inside intestine (apical) and outside intestine (basolateral) was analyzed by protein electrophoresis. The concentration of FD that penetrated to the basolateral solution was analyzed by spectrofluorometry. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis revealed the presence of GliSOD_P51 and GliSOD_P61 but not SOD_Cl in basolateral compartment. The percentage of FD10 but not FD40 and SOD_Cl that penetrated to the basolateral solution significantly increased with the presence of gliadin in GliSOD_P51 and GliSOD_P61. GliSOD_P51 and GliSOD_P61 are able to penetrate the rat intestinal epithelial membrane and the gliadin peptides facilitate FD10 to penetrate the epithelial.
Keywords: FITC-Dextran; SOD Citrus limon; gliadin; permeation; rat intestine.