Title of Paper:Citric acid-loaded W-1/O/W-2 multiple emulsions efficiently remove colonic ammonia both in vitro and in vivo

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Date of Publication:2017-01-02

Journal:JOURNAL OF DISPERSION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Included Journals:SCIE、EI、Scopus

Volume:38

Issue:1

Page Number:1-7

ISSN No.:0193-2691

Key Words:Ammonia removal; citric acid; colonic ammonia; Hepatic encephalopathy; W-1/O/W-2 emulsions

Abstract:Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuropsychiatric disorder caused by chronic and acute liver diseases. It is believed that ammonia played an important role on the pathogenesis of the disease. Herein, acid-loaded water-in-oil-in-water (W-1/O/W-2) multiple emulsions with over 95% encapsulation efficiency were prepared and used to absorb colonic ammonia. The study of citric acid release from W-1 to W-2 in bulk deionized water indicated that only 17% acid released in 8 hours, which proved the stability of the multiple emulsions and hence prevented the intestine from being irritated by acid burst release. In vitro, the W-1/O/W-2 emulsion could remove around 90% ammonia in 1.5 hours from either the 3mmol/L ammonia solution or the artificial colonic fluid with 1 and 0.5mmol/L ammonia without acidifying the artificial colonic fluid. In vivo, compared with lactulose, W-1/O/W-2 emulsions could efficiently reduce the blood ammonia to the similar level in the rat models with HE without increasing the water content in feces. All these results indicated a potential application of W-1/O/W-2 multiple emulsions for the treatment of HE.