British researchers are developing an artificial stomach that is believed to be the world’s first and most sophisticated artificial stomach.
This artificial stomach will be able to answer questions such as food structure, bioactive ingredient potential and general food safety, and after further development, this device can replace or precede high-cost human biological experiments, thus performing drug testing in drug testing. Evaluation.
This visceral model was developed by scientists at the British Food Institute. This may be the only human stomach model that can combine the physical, mechanical, and biochemical environmental knowledge that occurs during digestion. A correct understanding of how food is being digested is the key to continued innovation in the food industry, especially for the growing number of new functional and specialty foods, and for screening compounds with biological activity potential.
It has been an area that has not yet been highly realized by in vitro experiments simulating the metabolic, digestive and emission characteristics of chemicals, nutrients and activities from the food and drugs in the stomach. The increased focus on food engineering, especially the increased attention to the inclusion of nutrients, vitamins, and trace plant components in foods, requires a more accurate understanding of the digestion, absorption, metabolism, and excretion of these compounds. At the same time, the continued introduction of drug rules for rational dose design has stimulated interest in the development of a model with aura that can be used to describe drug release, breakdown, and distribution.
The head of the project, Dr. Martin Wickham, said: "Many food companies are already using this model. However, at present they are outsourcing their research directly to the British Food Institute."
As scientists working on the internal organs model are in the process of finalizing their work, in the next 12 to 18 months, these companies may be able to purchase and install model internal organs to help with their own research and development work.
Dr. Wickham said that the prototype was developed about two years ago and is divided into three sections that reflect real human stomach activity. The first part simulates the main body of the stomach, characterized by uneven mixing, followed by a unique stomach empty state. The second part is a model of the part of the stomach called the sinus, which is characterized by a strong mechanical force that can break down the food structure. The last part simulates the situation in the small intestine (duodenum), including changes in pH. Wickham said: "We want to develop a model similar to the human system."
If the gut viscera model can continue as originally planned, testing in the food industry can be achieved in 18 months.