According to researchers at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara (Mexico), a compound of the agave plant (mainly used to produce tequila) could dramatically improve treatment for diseases of the colon . This compound, called fructans, has proven a very effective way of delivering drugs to the colon .
The great challenge posed by these diseases today, such as ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease and cancer and it is very difficult to get drugs to the colon because this team of doctors as "The digestive tract is a very severe for many compounds due to stomach acids that destroy them before they reach the intestine. " His achievement has been discover that fructans can withstand this environment so destructive. To carry out practical conclusions, the researchers developed a microscopic capsules, called microspheres, able to get to the colon intact.
The study results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Chicago.
The fructans are compounds-carbohydrates-which are not digested by the stomach due to their chemical characteristics. Certain plants such as chicory, artichokes and onions, contain fructans. However, only very few plants such as agave, contain fructans in a sufficiently large proportion (80%).
For testing the researchers filled microspheres of ibuprofen and exposed to hydrochloric acid for one hour. After microscopic analysis they found that the microspheres were physically intact.
Dr. Toriz and his team are now investigating ways to improve the durability of the fructans and plan to conduct animal studies.
