NEW TOOL TO MEASURE INFLAMMATION DUE TO FOOD

Vast information about foods of various kind, especially the health benefits as being claimed by the manufacturers, can put any consumer, even if highly educated, into a state of confusion, hardly helpful in selecting right foods from the aisles of the supermarket. Government agencies have limitations in controlling or policing the industry and ultimately it falls on the shoulders of the consumer to decide which food is beat for him. Recent action by the EU in enforcing some order in health claims is a welcome move and rejecting more than 99% of the claims routinely printed on the labels generates some confidence among consumers that industry does not have unbridled freedom to mislead them. Development of a new analytical tool recently to test the healthiness or otherwise of foods developed for the market may go a long way to routinely assess the effect of any food on the inflammation will be a valuable tool for the industry as well as developmental scientists in the field of new product design. Here is a take on this new optical based test protocol which may become a common gadget in the coming years.

"The human body is complex, and designing a miniature artificial gastrointestinal system proved to be extremely exacting. The solution provided by researchers at EPFL ultimately took the shape of a two-level chip, whose levels are connected via a porous membrane. The upper level, which represents the intestinal wall, is made of a homogeneous layer of cultured epithelial cells. The lower level represents the circulatory system and is made up of immune system cells, and in particular macrophages. The macrophages' job within the human body is to keep it clean: when they encounter any potentially dangerous agents they release molecules such as cytokines that activate other immune-system cells. The NutriChip platform uses CMOS high-resolution optical sensors developed by Sandro Carrara's team in the EPFL's Integrated Sytems Lab in order to precisely detect and measure cytokine production by the immune cells that are on the other side of the layer of intestinal wall cells. These measurements, which are performed using fluorescence, show exactly how much inflammation is caused by a given food".

How far such tools become popular depends on the sincerity of the industry in ensuring the well being of the consumers because of the prevalent trust deficit that exists in the minds of consumers regarding the true intentions of industry in making products that are healthy in stead of being tasty. But a time may come when safety agencies can insist on al foods being non-inflammatory as tested by the nutriChip system as being developed now. Whether the industry will concur with such tight regulations remains to be seen. But if consumer pressure is mounted in an organized way, there is no reason as to how the industry can continue its resistance to measures like this in the interests of the consumer.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
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