Intestinal permeability of oyster shell calcium with different particle sizes

In this study, we examined the ionization rate and permeability of nanocalcium prepared from oyster shells with various particle sizes. Four particle sizes of the calcium samples were prepared by centrifugation according to their density disparity in alcoholic solution: NC (normal calcium), C-1 (supernatant of 1,000 rpm), C-2 (supernatant of 2,000 rpm), and C-3 (supernatant of 3,000 rpm). Particle sizes of NC, C-1, C-2, and C-3 were 2,280.3±64.3 nm, 521.3±83.3 nm, 313.9±29.5 nm, and 280.0±3.4 nm, respectively. C-3 showed a slight increase in ionization rate compared with the other calcium samples, but their differences were not significant. Dialysis membrane-employed analysis showed that nanocalcium permeability increased as its particle size smaller; 32% of C-3 nanocalcium was transported to the outside of the membrane, whereas C-1 showed a 25% transport rate. We determined the permeability of the nanocalciums by using rat intestinal sacs, in order to provide different intestinal environments depending on pH level. Nanocalcium generally showed a higher permeability at pH 7, which represents an ileum environments compared to the duodenum and jejunum environments at pH 4.2 and pH 6.2, respectively. However, C-3 calcium showed the highest permeability, followed by C-2, C-1 and NS calciums. This result shows that the size of calcium positively affected its permeability in the intestinal sac. Taken together, nano-sized calcium derived from discarded oyster shell shows improved permeability in intestinal environments.