In a word nothing is interfacing with the

In a word, nothing is interfacing with the mucosal linings of digestive tract more than food, which is proved to be a typical polydisperse system, containing micro- and nanoparticles. The uptake of these nanoparticles undoubtedly predominate all the mucosal nanoparticles uptake events. However, hardly any mucosal uptake of food nanoparticles has been seriously investigated. The lipid buy niclosamide process in the intestine has been preliminarily proved in previous work [26]. It is considered as a typical process of food microparticles uptake into lymphatic system, but the mechanism behind has not been fully understood. If natural or synthetic polymers can all find their pathways into the lymphoid system, there is no reason for the mucosal layers not to become the venue to start the interaction of food nanoparticles and the lymphatic system. What has been learnt from the research on microparticle–mucosa interaction using defined model systems can be similarly applied to food-derived nanoparticles.
The hypothesis: direct interaction of food nanoparticles with MALT Among all the possibilities, the uptake of antioxidant micro-and nanoparticles into lymphatic vessels may be of the greatest biological importance. When the superoxide production exceeds the intracellular or extracellular antioxidant capacity due to oxidative stress, the excessive superoxide in the interstitial fluid can be removed by the lymphatic system as to collect and transport tissue fluids from the intercellular spaces back to the blood [27]. It is the lymphatic capillaries, but not the blood capillaries that receive the excessive superoxide from the interstitial fluid, due to the open end of the lymph vessel and the higher osmotic pressure in capillary [28]. The lymphatic system may thus function as a channeling or drainage of the interstitial superoxide and consequently be in need of antioxidants to secure its immune function. The mucosal uptake of antioxidant nanoparticles which exist in most herbal extracts will act as a direct external antioxidant role to the lymphatic system under oxidative stress. Although, the mechanism of how antioxidant nanoparticles directly mitigate the stressed status of the lymphatic system is unknown, it is reasonable to expect some significant effects on the immunity after the uptake of antioxidant nanoparticles into the lymphatic system via the mucosa. Unconventional evidence on the direct interaction of antioxidant nanoparticles with lymphatic tissues has been obtained from our work on an herbal drink (data unpublished). The effect of ingesting the herbal drink on lymphatic tissues was monitored by determining voltage changes between the acupoints of Shaohai (HT3) and Shenmen (HT7) belonging to the heart meridian line. Ten minutes after the herbal drink was ingested, the voltage between Shaohai (HT3) and Shenmen (HT7) started to decrease while it remained unchanged in the group of the herbal drink with nanoparticles removed (Fig. 1). In our previous work [29], acupuncture meridians were revealed as the superoxide channel where superoxide traveled through in the form of electrons driven by the voltage differences. The changes of voltage differences between two acupoints along a specific meridian line can reflect the amount change of the superoxide discharged from the visceral organ that the meridian is connected to. Therefore, it suggests that nanoparticles in the herbal drink can change the superoxide level of the cells and lead to voltage changes between related acupoints. Moreover, all of the experimental subjects ingested the herbal drink behaved more peaceful and relaxed, which is in coincidence with the traditional function of the drink as Chinese herbal tea. Although many questions remain unknown in the results, what is inspiring is that the importance of particles is confirmed that the interaction is not a conventional assimilation process which requires much longer time, and the interaction did influence the superoxide channels and cause remarkable serum biomarkers level changes [30].