#13

What about:

#14

I highly doubt anything sold on amazon is engineered for unencumbered contents passage through ph 1.5 stomach.

Ask vendor for dissolution data.

Their claim is slick and misleading:

“Our acid-resistant capsules are engineered to break down in the small intestine, instead of the stomach”

Sure, the caps themselves might not break down, but the prized contents have well spilled already in the stomach.

Look elsewhere.

1 Like
#15

The capsule you should look at is the brand named “Acid Armor™”

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#16

Glad to learn this before wasting money. Thanks to all for taking the time to reply. I’ll look into the “Acid Armor™” product and/or see if another compounding pharmacy will do something different.

#17

Do we actually know or have data that Acid Armor works any better?

#18

As a new forum member this may not be the best way to introduce myself, but has anyone considered using rectal suppositories to try to circumvent this issue with stomach acid? Perhaps this is a particularly poor idea, but I’d love to hear if that is the case and why this should be avoided. Admittedly I’m considering trying this out, as I also have powdered Rapamycin. It seems to have dissolved well in an alcohol solution, and I added it to a normal vegan capsule. But I don’t seem to get similar effects to the Rapa I bought previously from an Indian based pharmacy - even while taking much higher doses.

Rectal route to bypass stomach acid and liver
#19

The website of the manufacturer of Acid Armor™ says “Acid Armor capsules have been shown in studies to delay the release of the capsule’s contents by an average of 45 minutes. When a product like Neprinol is taken on an empty stomach, the capsule typically enters and leaves the stomach in 30 minutes or less.” More info at the site:

I’m planning to put other capsules inside Acid Armor capsules, if they will fit, and see what happens. I may get my blood tested for the level of rapamycin a few hours after ingesting, or just see what happens to my regular blood parameters and symptoms of aging after I’ve been taking rapamycin for a while.

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#20

Do we know for sure if an Acid Armor capsule will open up like a typical gelcap, or is it sealed? If it’s sealed, then we’re SOL when it comes to replacing the contents with rapamycin.

#21

I’m an idiot. I didn’t think about that. I also don’t know if it’s even possible to purchase Acid Armor capsules. I haven’t found a way to do it yet. It’s possible to purchase several supplements in Acid Armor capsules, but may not be possible to purchase the empty capsules.

#22

“Anything you’ve been dreaming of, but I just won’t do that.”

#23

It’s Joseph’s fault for suggesting Acid Armor :laughing:

#24

Yes it is…

#25

After a brief Google search I found the pamflet of an oral Rapamune solution for organ transplant patients. The active ingredients of the drink are Sirolimus, Ethanol, Propylene Glycol and soy oil.The dose is adjusted based on the blood levels of Sirolimus the solution achieves - and who knows, perhaps patients do indeed need to take higher doses to achieve the required blood levels of Rapa. But this would certainly indicate Rapamycin without enteric coated capsule is also bioavailable. The life of organ transplant patients is basically dependent on these Rapamune drinks after all. As was suggested, and as MAC also mentioned; we’d need to get a blood test done to check blood levels of Rapamycin. For US members this shouldn’t be an issue as LEF for example offers Rapamycin blood tests.
I’ve been searching high and low and haven’t found such an option here in the private medical sector, unfortunately.

5 Likes
#26

People have often talked about the increased AUC of rapa when taken with a fatty meal as compared to an empty stomach. However, in light of the stomach acid issue, it’s quite important to distinguish between rapamune taken with a meal and generic, non-enteric coated, taken with a meal. As far as I understand it, taking a medicine with a meal will cause it to spend more time in the stomach and the meal itself stimulates stomach acid, so it seems on net would expose the substance to substantially more stomach acid degradation. While this might not be a big issue for Rapamune, it could be quite a big issue for generic Sirolimus. This could tilt the tables in favor of taking generic Sirolimus on an empty stomach.

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#27

Even though acid is secreted in response to food, the overall pH of the stomach goes up after a meal because the stomach acid is diluted.

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#28

Thanks, I didn’t know that, but it makes a lot of sense. I suspect a pill will spend a longer time in the stomach though when food immediately precedes it. So the question is: which effect matters more - the longer time or the lower PH?

#29

I’ve also been wondering: What causes an enteric-coated pill to actually dissolve or release its contents in the intestines? Is it just that its there for so much longer than the stomach, and this eventually causes dissolution even at PHs closer to neutral, or is it some other property of the environment of the intestines?

#30

" Turns out, pretty much all drug absorption occurs in the small intestine. This is because:

  • Drugs spend longer in the small intestine
  • The small intestine has a larger surface area"

https://derangedphysiology.com/main/cicm-primary-exam/required-reading/pharmacokinetics/Chapter%201.3.4/drug-absorption-small-intestine

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#31

The idea is to get the drug quickly out of the stomach. The drug biaxin gives considerable GI gastric side effects and this isn’t alleviated by food. However, it’s very well tolerated when taken immediately with 8 oz. of water. I do the same with rapamycin to increase its transit.

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#32

The enteric capsules (if they work properly) are pH-dependent. They resist breaking down in low-pH (acidic) conditions (stomach) and then open up in a higher-pH setting (small intestine). Taking w/small amount of water and no food would keep the stomach pH low and allow for rapid transit to the small intestine.

2 Likes