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Concentration Of Egg White Lysozyme In The Serum Of Healthy Subjects After Oral Administration
Author(s) -
Hashida Seiichi,
Ishikawa Eiji,
Nakamichi Noboru,
Sekino Hisayuki
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1440-1681
pISSN - 0305-1870
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1681.2002.03605.x
Subject(s) - lysozyme , egg white , pharmacokinetics , oral administration , serum concentration , immunoassay , medicine , enzyme , chemistry , zoology , endocrinology , biology , food science , immunology , antibody , biochemistry
SUMMARY 1. While the egg white lysozyme preparation ER0068 (Neuzym ® ; Eisai, Tokyo, Japan) is widely used clinically, no studies have been performed on its pharmacokinetic properties at clinically relevant doses. In the present study, we used a highly sensitive two‐site enzyme immunoassay in order to determine the pharmacokinetic properties of egg white lysozyme after oral administration of two doses within the clinical range, paying particular attention to the effects of food intake. 2. A total of 22 healthy male subjects aged 20–45 years participated in the study. All subjects had been screened for egg white allergy and non‐specific lysozyme inhibitors in their serum. Subjects who received 90 mg ER0068 after an overnight fast reached a maximum serum concentration of 1700 pg/mL within 1 h, compared with non‐detectable levels in untreated controls. In a second experiment, subjects received 30 and 90 mg ER0068 after an overnight fast and 90 mg in the non‐fasted state and exhibited maximum serum levels of 37, 360 and 49 pg/mL, respectively. Egg white lysozyme concentrations in serum returned to undetectable levels after a maximum of 48 h. 3. We conclude that clinically relevant concentrations of egg white lysozyme are absorbed in significant amounts, despite its high molecular weight. However, food intake considerably reduces the amount of enzyme absorbed.