Effects of alcohol on digestion, absorption and metabolism of sea cucumber saponins in healthy mice

Sea cucumber saponins have attracted more attention in recent years due to biological activities. It is a popular practice to soak sea cucumber in Baijiu at home and being applied to industrial manufacturing in China. However, knowledge of the effect of alcohol on the absorption and metabolism of sea cucumber saponins is limited. The effects of alcohol on digestion, absorption and metabolism of sea cucumber saponins in BALB/c mice were investigated after gavage and tail intravenous injection. The results showed that the content of saponins in serum and liver was significantly higher under the influence of alcohol than that in the control group after oral administration. Alcohol promoted the absorption of sea cucumber saponins prototype as well as inhibited the process of saponins being transformed into deglycositic metabolites in the small intestine. Moreover, sea cucumber saponins remained in circulation for a long time and alcohol slowed down the clearance of sea cucumber saponins under the influence of alcohol after intravenous injection. This confirmed the feasibility of marinating sea cucumber in Baijiu to improve the efficacy of saponins and provides an important theoretical basis for the utilization of sea cucumber and the development of sea cucumber liquor.