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A group of scientists from Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI), Mysuru, and Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Thanjavur, have created an artificial small intestine system to test the level of absorption of micronutrients and other bioactive compounds from food.
A patent has been filed and the system is currently in use at CSIR-IIFPT. It is however different from the artificial system developed by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (NOASR).
Unlike the NOASR system, this artificial intestine simulates the exact physiological conditions and helps to evaluate both bioaccessibility and bioavailability of nanoformulated bioactive compounds.
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 researchers checked the permeability of both fat-soluble (vitamin E) and water-soluble (gallic acid) compounds using the new set-up. The system performed better for the water-soluble compounds.