Foods 2012, 1(1), 40-51; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods1010040
Application of Gut Cell Models for Toxicological and Bioactivity Studies of Functional and Novel Foods
Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, University of Maribor, Faculty of Medicine, Slomskov trg 15, Maribor 2000, Slovenia
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Received: 30 October 2012 / Revised: 30 November 2012 / Accepted: 4 December 2012 / Published: 13 December 2012
Abstract
The concept of functional and novel foods undoubtedly bears great potential as an asset to human health. However, this very same quest for ever new bioactive ingredients calls for reliable and distinct risk assessment as they may be potentially hazardous to human health. Most of today's methodologies still rely on decades old routines of animal trials and use of tumor-derived cell lines. Since such methodologies are not in line with the actual processes in the human body and with the 3R (replacement, reduction, refinement) concept, the results are often unreliable and misleading. Therefore, in this paper we propose the utilization of available untransformed small intestinal cell lines derived from human and pig tissue of non-tumor origin and describe several available cell models of the gut that offer a functional, close resemblance with the in vivo environment. View Full-TextKeywords:
gut; cell models; risk assessment; toxicology; functional food
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Trapecar, M.; Cencic, A. Application of Gut Cell Models for Toxicological and Bioactivity Studies of Functional and Novel Foods. Foods 2012, 1, 40-51.