Pharmacokinetics of InsP₆

Studies have shown that InsP₆ is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, distributed through the plasma to various organs including the brain, and excreted from the lungs via exhaled air and through the kidneys via urine as inositol, InsP_1-5 and InsP₆. That it is distributed in brain indicates that it crosses the blood-brain barrier. Also challenging the dogma is that at least in mice, InsP₆ is distributed in the red blood cells as well. InsP₆ is rapidly taken up by malignant cells wherein it is precipitously dephosphorylated to various lower phosphates; depending on the cell types, the proportion of these lower inositol phosphates varies. Inositol is also rapidly absorbed by humans.

Keywords: Blood-brain barrier, GC-MS, internalization, red blood cells, visualization.