Biopharmaceutics classification and intestinal absorption study of apigenin.

The aim of the study was to characterize the biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) category of apigenin (AP) using intrinsic dissolution rate (IDR) and rat intestinal permeability, and to investigate the intestinal absorption mechanism of AP in rats. In the present investigation, equilibrium solubility and intrinsic dissolution rate (IDR) of AP were estimated in phosphate buffers. Effective intestinal permeability (P(eff)) of AP was determined using single-pass intestinal perfusion (SPIP) technique in four segments (duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon) of rat intestine at three concentrations (10, 50 and 100 μg/ml). The aqueous solubility of AP in tested phosphate buffers was very poor with maximum solubility of 2.16 μg/ml at pH 7.5. The IDR of AP was very low with a value of 0.006 mg/min/cm(2). The minimum and maximum P(eff)s determined by SPIP were 0.198×10(-4) and 0.713×10(-4) cm/s at jejunum and duodenum site, respectively. In addition, the concentration-dependent permeability behavior was observed in the duodenum and jejunum, which suggested that AP was transported by both passive and active carrier-mediated saturable mechanism in these two intestinal segments. However, the observed concentration-independent permeability behavior in ileum and colon indicated primarily passive transport mechanism of absorption of AP in the last two intestinal segments. AP was classified as class II drug of the BCS due to its low solubility and high intestinal permeability. AP could be well absorbed in the whole intestine with the main absorption site at duodenum. The absorption of AP in four intestinal segments exhibited different transport mechanisms.