Absorption in GI tract Flashcards
Why are oral doses designed to make solutions in the small intestine and not, say, the stomach or large intestine?
Because the small intestine is made for absorption and is good at it
What is the main barrier to absorption in the stomach?
Thick layer of mucin (mucopolysaccharide)
Why is the pH in the stomach higher in “fed state” than in “fasted state”?
In fed state the acid in the stomach is being absorbed and used to digest food, so the pH is higher
When a drug is sensitive to low pH, what should you tell the patient?
Take it with food (keeps pH up)
What is a disadvantage of taking drugs with food?
Some drugs may be ionized at low pH but not at higher pH (ionized molecules enter solution faster)
What is the average range of gastric emptying time?
0-3 hours
What is the definition of gastric emptying time?
amount of time between deposition of material into stomach and its movement out of the stomach
What are two things that extend gastric emptying time?
Large chunks of food and fats
What is the “housekeeping wave”?
Gastric emptying that occurs every 15-20 minutes in fasted state in order to clear out mucin and acid
How can the housekeeping wave be utilized in regards to drug absorption?
If drug taken in fasting state, may enter intestine quicker by “riding” the housekeeping wave as opposed to waiting for gastric emptying
What is a disadvantage to taking the drug under fasted conditions (in regards to drug absorption)?
There is a limited, shorter amount of time for the drug to disintegrate/rupture before entering the intestines
Where do all the blood vessels of the small intestine drain?
Into portal circulation (portal vein)
What makes the small intestine so good at absorption?
Rich supply of nerves and blood vessels, strong blood flow, length
Approximately what percentage of cardiac output goes to small intestine circulation?
25-30%
What are the three parts of the small intestine?
Duodenum, Jejunum, Ileum
The pH of the intestine _______ as you move farther along
increases
What is the pH range in the duodenum?
4.9-6.4
What is the pH range in the jejunum
4.4-6.6
What is the pH range in the ileum?
6.5-7.4
What is the pH range in the large intestine?
6.4-8
What molecule is used to neutralize stomach acid in the intestines?
Bicarbonate
What cause the pH increase moving along the intestines?
Bacteria byproducts
Why does drug absorption decrease when a patient has diarrhea?
Because material is moving through the intestines much more quickly
What is the average time material spends going through the small intestine?
2-5 hours
While most drugs are typically absorbed throughout the whole length of the small intestine, some drugs are only absorbed in a specific region, called the ________ for that drug.
Window of Absorption
Where does entero-hepatic recycling take place?
The small intestine
Explain the process of entero-hepatic recyling.
When drug in the small intestine is absorbed into the blood, it is transported through the portal vein where it is pulled out by the liver; the liver then deposits the drug into the bile duct, and when the bile is secreted back into the intestine, the drug can be reabsorbed back into the system.
What do goblet cells secrete?
A thin layer of mucin
What is another name for the basement membrane?
Lamina propria
What is the difference between the transcellular and paracellular pathways?
In the transcellular pathway, the drug must be able to interact with the cell membrane and pass through it while traveling from cell to cell; in the paracellular pathway, the drug never interacts with the membrane and instead passes through the small junctions between cells in an entirely aqueous pathway
If a drug can pass passively through the cell membrane in diffusion, what does that say about the cell?
It has a hydrophobic (lipophillic) portion that is able to interact with the nonpolar tails in the membrane
How do drug “hitch a ride” on nutrients being actively transported into the cell?
By having a size and shape similar to the nutrient
Efflux pumps can exist on either or both the _____ and _____ membranes.
Apical (lumen), basolateral (basal)
Are efflux pumps very specific? Why?
No, because that way they can transport a wider variety of foreign substances