Comparison of Absorption of 1-Deoxynojirimycin from Mulberry Water Extract in Rats

In this study, we compared the absorption and excretion of DNJ in mulberry leaf extract against that of the purified compound (DNJ) using GC-TOF-MS, a newly developed analytical method, when administered orally to rats. Moreover, we also compared absorption levels in small intestinal cells using the Caco-2 cell line. In the cell study, DNJ absorption from the mulberry extract seemed to be inhibited when compared to that of the purified DNJ compound. The concentration of DNJ in rat plasma was also significantly (p < 0.05) lower when the mulberry extract was administered versus the purified DNJ compound. The metabolic pattern of DNJ from the mulberry leaf extract indicated that most was excreted in the feces, whereas a lower amount was detected in the urine, which was similar to the purified DNJ compound. These findings indicate that the bioavailability of DNJ in mulberry leaf extract might be lower than that of highly purified DNJ.