The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7360 p436
8 October 2005

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Yeast may be an option for nasal delivery of insulin

Applying a solution of yeast to a monolayer of epithelial cells increases the transport of insulin through it, researchers from Leeds University told participants at the British Pharmaceutical Conference last week.

Cells treated with a 2 per cent yeast solution for 24 hours transported 24.4 per cent of fluorescently labelled insulin compared with 0.97 per cent transported through a non-treated monolayer.

This means that yeast acts as a penetration enhancer and could be used to improve the delivery of drugs via nasal mucosa, say the researchers. It is thought that the yeast opens the tight junctions between epithelial cells, which are normally barriers to large drug molecules. This effect is dose- and time-dependent and reversible, but the precise mechanism is unclear.

Yeast was examined because of its similarity to chitosan, which is established as a penetration enhancer.