Bioassays
We support your development through the evaluation of your products from digestion step to the metabolic and clinical outcomes.
Digestion studies
– In-vitro Infogest digestibility model for lipids, micronutrients, proteins and food matrices
– Characterization of the digestate composition
– Kinetics and rate of in-vitro digestion of lipids and proteins
– Study of the digestive contents in different parts of the digestive tract (intestinal stoma model in rodents).
Absorption & transport studies
– In-vitro intestinal Caco-2 cell model for lipids, micronutrients, proteins and food matrices
– In-vivo Lymph cannulation model in rodents (lipids, fat-soluble compounds)
– Pharmacokinetic study in pre-clinical models
– Metabolic cage (FAO model).
Metabolic and nutritional interventions
– In-vitro model of enteral metabolism (Caco-2) for lipids, micronutrients, proteins and food matrices
– In-vitro analysis of enzymatic activities of lipoprotein metabolism
Hepatic metabolism of lipid
– In-vivo nutritional interventions to study tissue accretion and metabolism of nutrients (pre-clinical and clinical model)
– Metabolite profiling
– Gut microbiome profiling
Biological activity
– In-vitro study of intestinal mucosa integrity and inflammation
– In-vitro study of lipoprotein oxidative status
– In-vivo preclinical studies in different conditions (development, adult or aging in rodents)
– In-vivo study of inflammatory status
– In-vivo study of oxidative status and oxidative stress
– In-vivo study of lipemia
Case Study
In Vitro study of the digestibility and intestinal absorption of lipids and proteins
Context
Nutrient bioavailability is defined as the fraction of nutrients that are absorbed and used by the organism. The first step in making a nutrient bioavailable is its releasing from the “food matrix” and its conversion into a chemical form that can be absorbed by the digestive mucosa.
Many factors modulate this bioavailability. Besides the specific parameters of the consumer (age, gender, nutritional status, physiological or pathological states…), several factors intrinsic to the food matrix can also significantly modify the bioavailability of nutrients such as structure, composition, chemical form of the nutrient, interactions with other nutrients…
All these parameters must be taken into account during the development of any formula or product.
Challenge
Impact of the processing of plant-based proteins and their formulation with lipids on their respective bioavailability
In vitro work flow to evaluate nutrient bioavailability
Kinetics of lipid and protein in vitro digestion of a mix pea proteins + rapeseed oil
*INFOGEST protocol (Brodkorb et al. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-018-0119-1) simulate in vitro, the physicochemical processes occurring inside the human gastrointestinal tract (mouth, stomach, and small intestine) during the digestion of foods, by mimicking the enzymatic (digestive enzymes (proteases, lipases)) and physicochemical (electrolyte solution and co-factors) composition of the different digestive fluids (salivary, gastric and intestinal)) to which the food is exposed in the gastrointestinal tract, from the oral phase to the intestinal phase.
*Caco-2 intestinal cell model = cell lines derived from a human ileo-caecal adenocarcinoma reproducing a set of characteristics of differentiated intestinal cells. In culture, these cells have the capacity to differentiate into mature enterocytes to form an epithelium mimicking the intestinal barrier. They express the morphological and functional characteristics of the intestinal epithelium: microvilli to form a brush border, tight junctions between cells, enzymes specific to enterocytes.
Why choosing this work flow ?
- useful in predicting outcomes of in vivo digestion
- speed of implementation
- screening possibility of a large number of formula at a lower cost
- simultaneous study of lipid and protein bioavailability
- obtaining predictive data of nutrient bioavailability of complex dietary matrices