[Oral administration of insulin by means of liposomes in animal experiments (author's transl)].

Liposomes are an effective vehicle for the oral administration of insulin. They are prepared from lipid emulsions by sonication and particles of homogeneous size are generated by elution through sepharose columns. Liposomes are taken up into the gastric mucosa by endocytosis and then transported to the liver via the portal circulation. Oral administration of 10 U insulin/kg body weight to rats is followed by a reduction in blood glucose to 67% of the initial value. When liposome-trapped insulin was injected intravenously a decrease in blood glucose to 40% of the initial value was obtained by the administration of 5 IU insulin/kg body weight. While the effect of orally-administered liposome-trapped insulin is obvious, the problems of standardization of the insulin content of the liposomes and the great variability of liposome uptake into the gastric mucosa by endocytosis remain unsolved.