Molecular weight and gut microbiota determine the bioavailability of orally administered hyaluronic acid

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Authors	ŠIMEK Matěj TURKOVÁ Kristýna SCHWARZER Martin NEŠPOROVÁ Kristina KUBALA Lukáš HERMANNOVÁ Martina FOGLOVÁ Tereza ŠAFRÁNKOVÁ Barbora ŠINDELÁŘ Martin ŠRŮTKOVÁ Dagmar CHATZIGEORGIOU Sofia NOVOTNÁ Tereza HUDCOVIC Tomáš VELEBNÝ Vladimír
Year of publication	2023
Type	Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source	Carbohydrate Polymers
MU Faculty or unit	Faculty of Science
Citation
Web	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120880
Doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120880
Keywords	Microbiota; Hyaluronan; Metabolism; Bioavailability; Digestion; Oligosaccharides
Description	The ability of hyaluronan as a dietary supplement to increase skin moisture and relieve knee pain has been demonstrated in several clinical studies. To understand the mechanism of action, determining hyaluronan's bioavailability and in vivo fate is crucial. Here, we used 13C-hyaluronan combined with LC–MS analysis to compare the absorption and metabolism of oral hyaluronan in germ-free and conventional wild-type mice. The presence of Bacteroides spp. in the gut was crucial for hyaluronan absorption. Specific microorganisms cleave hyaluronan into unsaturated oligosaccharides (<3 kDa) which are partially absorbed through the intestinal wall. The remaining hyaluronan fragments are metabolized into short-chain fatty acids, which are only metabolites available to the host. The poor bioavailability (~0.2 %) of oral hyaluronan indicates that the mechanism of action is the result of the systematic regulatory function of hyaluronan or its metabolites rather than the direct effects of hyaluronan at distal sites of action (skin, joints).