Serum zonulin measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay may not be a reliable marker of small intestinal permeability in healthy adults.

The association between intestinal permeability (IP) and body composition remains unclear. The gold standard differential sugar-absorption test is arduous to complete, with zonulin being increasingly used as an independent biomarker of IP. This pilot study aimed to explore the association between small IP, zonulin concentrations, and body composition in healthy adults.