Evaluation of the digestion and transport profiles and potential immunocompetence of puerarin and its acylated derivatives.

Acylation has become one of the most widely used methods to improve the lipid solubility and bioavailability of flavonoids. In this study, puerarin acid esters (PAES) with different chain lengths were synthesized via biocatalytic acylation. This was the first study to evaluate the digestion and transport profiles and immunocompetence of PAES. The relationship between the digestion and transport profiles and potential immunocompetence of the acylated derivatives in Caco-2 cell monolayers was also explored. Puerarin and PAES remained stable in gastric phases, whereas different degrees of hydrolysis of PAES were found in the intestine. PAES with less than 12 carbon chains were positively correlated with the degree of hydrolysis, while those with more than 12 carbon chains showed higher resistance to hydrolysis by the artificial human digestive juice. The apparent permeability coefficients of puerarin, puerarin acetate, puerarin propanoate, puerarin butyrate, puerarin hexanoate, puerarin octanate and puerarin laurate were 1.62 ± 0.09, 1.70 ± 0.15, 1.89 ± 0.19, 1.86 ± 0.18, 2.29 ± 0.12, 4.06 ± 1.01 and 2.32 ± 0.88 × 10-6 cm s-1, respectively, in Caco-2 cell monolayers. The results of the immune factor assays indicated that puerarin propanoate, puerarin hexanoate and puerarin myristate could significantly promote the secretion of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10. These findings suggested that a better absorption could be predicted after oral intake using PAES. Meanwhile, the concentration of esters and their metabolites (puerarin) found in the digestion and transport profiles directly affected their potential immunocompetence.