Radoslava Kristofova (Department of Digestive Tract Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Soltesovej 4-6, 040 01 Kosice, Slovakia) Radoslava Kristofova Karin Zitterl-Eglseer (Centre for Veterinary Systems Transformation and Sustainability, Clinical Department for Farm Animal and Food Systems Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria) Karin Zitterl-Eglseer Fardad Firooznia (Department of Biology, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA) Fardad Firooznia Andrea Laukova (Department of Digestive Tract Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Soltesovej 4-6, 040 01 Kosice, Slovakia) Andrea Laukova Lubica Chrastinova (Animal Production Research Centre, National Agricultural and Food Centre, Hlohovecka 2, 951 41 Nitra-Luzianky, Slovakia) Lubica Chrastinova Monika Pogany Simonova (Department of Digestive Tract Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Soltesovej 4-6, 040 01 Kosice, Slovakia) Monika Pogany Simonova Margareta Takacsova (Department of Digestive Tract Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Soltesovej 4-6, 040 01 Kosice, Slovakia) Margareta Takacsova Kristina Bacova (Department of Digestive Tract Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Soltesovej 4-6, 040 01 Kosice, Slovakia) Kristina Bacova Iveta Placha (Department of Digestive Tract Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Soltesovej 4-6, 040 01 Kosice, Slovakia) Iveta Placha MDPI 2025 Thymol gastro-resistant self-emulsifying pellets were used to achieve thymol targeted release on the side of the intestine with the most intensive absorption to enhance its oral bioavailability. Forty-eight rabbits (35 d of age) were divided into two groups fed with a standard diet containing gastro-resistant enteric pellets (control, CG; without thymol, initial live weight 1350.0 ± 18.0, and experimental, EG; with thymol 250 mg/kg, initial live weight 1352.0 ± 19.9 g). The experiment lasted 28 days: thymol was administered for 21 days and then withdrawn for 7 days. Thymol was significantly higher in duodenal wall (DW) than in plasma during both periods (p = 0.0053, p < 0.0001). Significant correlation was established between thymol concentration in plasma and DW during its application (rs = 0.9333, p < 0.001). Thymol was below the limit of quantitation in plasma, spleen and muscle only after its withdrawal, and its significantly higher concentration in kidney and fat than in plasma (p = 0.0182, p = 0.0003) and muscle (p = 0.0236, p = 0.0004) indicates its efficient accumulation. Thymol in gastro-resistant form prevented its degradation due to adverse conditions in the stomach and ensured its release at the site of greatest absorption in the small intestine. PDFDocument eng 2026-04-23T08:33:07.507736Z 2025 Thymol Self-emulsifying Pellets Oral Bioavailability Rabbits Metabolism 934903 b application/pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/