When mice swallow hyaluronan, only about 1 in 500 parts of it actually gets into their body without breaking apart—so most of it just passes through without being absorbed.

When mice swallow hyaluronan, almost none of it gets into their bloodstream whole—just a tiny bit—so any effects they feel probably come from gut bacteria breaking it down, not from the original substance.

When your body doesn’t absorb certain pieces of hyaluronan (a substance found in joints and skin), your gut bacteria break them down into tiny fatty acids—and in mice, these fatty acids are the only things your body gets from those bacteria.

When you swallow hyaluronic acid, only about 2% of it actually gets into your bloodstream, no matter how big or small the molecules are, because your gut breaks it down too much and doesn’t let much through.

When rats and dogs swallow a big molecule called hyaluronan, their bodies absorb it and it shows up in places like their joints, spine, and saliva glands—and it stays there for almost two days.

When rats ate hyaluronic acid, only 16% of it made it into their bloodstream unchanged — the rest got broken down or didn’t get absorbed at all.