Assessing Bioavailability of Alaskan Blueberry Botanicals in vitro

Abstract

Prevalence of type II diabetes, a loss of insulin sensitivity, is rapidly increasing in rural Alaskan communities likely due to increasing obesity rates. However, there is a lower percentage of cases when compared to the incidence of type II diabetes in the contiguous US. This phenomenon could possibly be a consequence of berry‐rich diets as part of the traditional subsistence lifestyle of rural Alaskan populations. Wild Alaska blueberries, specifically, have been shown to improve or rescue insulin sensitivity in vitro. However, it is imperative to understand bioavailability, efficient uptake from the intestinal lumen into the bloodstream, to correlate these in vitro findings to in vivo situations. For this project, we modified an in vitro Caco‐2 bioavailability assay in order to mimic botanical transport by the intestinal lining. Caco‐2 monolayers used in these assays were tested for accuracy and intactness using both microscopy and transport studies. Transport studies were used to ensure monolayer integrity both prior to and after botanical transport, using 3kDa fluorescent dextran and Lucifer yellow as the control reporter molecule respectively. Results from this study provided insight into cell culture and cytotoxicity of botanical extracts, which can be used to improve upon the botanical bioavailability assay. Transported botanical extract from successful transport studies will be analyzed via LC‐MS and compared to a full, untransported extract control.Support or Funding InformationResearch reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers UL1GM118991, TL4GM118992, or RL5GM118990. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.Research reported in this publication was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number P20GM103395. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect theofficial views of the NIH.