Use of in vitro assays for evaluating physiological functionality of foods: General consideration

A new health paradigm may be evolving that would place emphasis on the positive aspects of diet, identifying components that are physiologically active and that contribute to the prevention of disease onset. It has been increasingly difficult to evaluate the impact of new bioactive materials and food products on the well being of society. Thus, testing systems for both health function and toxicity have become very elaborate, complex, and interrelated, making their interpretation difficult and open to controversy. To select the proper starting materials, to screen the appropriate health functionality and to determine the efficacy of product, a reliable, reproducible, sensitive and predictive assay is required. Particularly, in uitro assay is the first stage in preclinical test on physiologically active materials and have many advantages in terms of time, cost and convenience. However, several factors as well as some limitations should be considered in this assay system. This presentation, therefore, will address the use of in uitro assays for evaluating physiological functionality of foods coupled with general consideration.