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This methodological review suggests what to do and what not to do in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) research for researchers, supervisors, scientific reviewers, and regulatory officers. High viscosity of gut contents, existence of bacterial biofilm and of mucus layer at the mucosal surface, and rapid absorption of SCFAs make it difficult to know their concentrations at the very surface of the mucosa. As lumen or fecal concentration of SCFAs does not reflect their rate of production, these parameters should not be used as measures of SCFA production or absorption. Effects of SCFAs can vary and even become opposite at different dose, time of/after exposure or time of the day. Thus, results without dose-response, time-course, and diurnal variance experiments can be seriously misleading. It is also to note that too much emphasis on n-butyrate should be avoided., (© 2018 The Author. Animal Science Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Animal Science.)

Objectives: Experimental studies on the pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have achieved great progress in recent years. This review aims to summarize the progress made on intestinal absorption and bioavailability of TCMs, and proposes the application of intestinal absorption assays as new tools for the quality and safety control of these medicines., Key Findings: Since only the absorbed constituents may produce possible therapeutic effect (except those that directly target the digestive tract), intestinal absorption is of utmost importance for the drug action of TCMs, which are usually taken orally. Meanwhile, complicated drug interactions may occur among the multiple ingredients in a herbal mixture. In this regard, the intestinal permeability assays not only provide useful pharmacokinetic data of TCMs, but have potential applications for quality and safety control. Moreover, knockout animals, 2/4/A1 in-vitro cell model and physiologically-based in-silico models based on the online TCM database can be quite useful for the prediction of absorption and bioavailability of TCMs., Summary: A variety of in-vivo, in-vitro, in-situ and in-silico models for predicting the intestinal absorption and bioavailability can be applied to study the herbal interactions and screen appropriate biomarkers for the quality and safety control of TCMs., (© 2012 The Authors. JPP © 2012. Royal Pharmaceutical Society.)

A method is reported which permits selective suppression of absorption of radioactive strontium from ingested food material, permitting calcium to be available to the body. Studies were carried out by measuring bone uptake of Sr(89) and Ca(45) when various amounts of sodium alginate were fed with the diet. Long-term studies were made in which two different levels of radioactivity were used, to determine the pattern of Sr(89) deposition with continuous intake of binding agent. It was found that administration of sodium alginate as a jelly overcomes the problem of constipation and effectively reduces Sr(89) uptake, up to 83%. This fact represents a significant finding with respect to the use of the compound in human subjects. Addition of sodium alginate to drinking water is effective with low levels of Sr(89) intake.This naturally occurring water-soluble macromolecular substance possesses several advantages in use for the suppression of absorption of radioactive strontium when compared with synthetic ion exchange resins: there is no disturbance of electrolyte balance; efficiency is not reduced by treatment over a prolonged period of time; and finally, the product is palatable.