Why is it in news?

An artificial small intestine system to study food and drug absorption has been developed.

Details

• Scientists from Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI), Mysuru, and Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Thanjavur, have developed an artificial small intestine system to test the level of absorption of micronutrients and other bioactive compounds from food.
• While the artificial system requires just two hours to analyse the intestinal absorption, the methods currently in use are time-consuming and not suitable for studying large number of compounds.
• The system consists of a perfusion chamber fitted with rat intestine. To perform animal trials, at least 6–10 rats are needed, but using this system just two–three rats would suffice. There are severe ethical issues and infrastructure requirements that restrict the researchers in carrying out in vivo studies. To overcome this, the artificial small intestinal system was fabricated.
• In the case of the fat-soluble compound, the permeability was higher in rats than the new system. But the artificial system performed better for the water-soluble compound.
• The absorption of the fat-soluble compound is facilitated by carrier proteins like NPC1L1 in the intestinal cells. But in the engineered system, there is no carrier-mediated uptake, only passive diffusion. So the engineered model is best for studying compounds with passive diffusion.
• The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research has also developed an artificial system. But Unlike their system, this system simulates the exact physiological conditions and helps to evaluate both bioaccessibility and bioavailability of nanoformulated bioactive compounds.

Conclusion

• This development is extremely crucial for studying the workings of the intestinal system in digesting and processing different types of inputs a body normally takes in. This machine can achieve good results while addressing the ethical issues which were created by the earlier system to a great extent. The data of this research can also be used to create optimum and effective drugs for the body. It can also help accurately determine which foods are beneficial and which foods are harmful for the body.

Source

The Hindu