Comparative Analyses of Bioavailability, Biotransformation and Excretion of Nobiletin in Lean and Obese Rats

Nobiletin, one of the prevalent polymethoxyflavones (PMF) in citrus peels, was reported to possess various health benefits. We conducted the excretion study and pharmacokinetic study of nobiletin via oral administration and intravenous injection, and 15-day consecutive dosing study using the high fat diet (HFD) induced obese rats and their lean counterparts. By comparing the demethylated metabolite profiles in the urine and feces, gut microbiota demonstrated greater biotransformation activity on nobiletin than the host. The absolute oral bioavailability of nobiletin in lean (22.37% ± 4.52%) and obese (18.67% ± 4.80%) rats has negligible statistically significant difference (P>0.05). However, higher extent of demethylated metabolites was found in the feces and plasma of obese rats than lean rats (P<0.05). Moreover, the consecutive dosing of nobiletin might lead to higher extent of demethylated metabolites in the plasma as well as in feces. These results suggested that gut microbiota played important roles on nobiletin metabolism.