TIM Systems: A Novel Approach for Determination of Bioaccessibility and Bioavailability of Food Components

Abstract

The increasing rate of consciousness on innovative changes in foods has been increasingly grew the demand for the information aboutmetabolism of these foods. Data about bioaccessibility and bioavailability of food components become more vital for both consumersand producers in the context of developing new healthier foods. Both nutrition and food researchers try to develop methods that allowuser to obtain sufficient results of bioaccessibility and bioavailability of food compounds. Therefore, this study will summarize the TIMsystem, a novel system that mimics the human gastrointestinal system by all means, including working principles and studies performedin this system. In vivo and in vitro studies cannot be used as useful tool for measuring bioaccessibility and bioavailability of foodcomponents because of the physiological differences between human and animal. TIM studies were shown that this novel system couldbe easily used for the monitoring gastrointestinal movements of foods. In conclusion, TIM systems provide adequate data includingdigestibility, bioaccessibility and bioavailability of many different food products. By mimicking the GI tract, TIM system is a promisingtool for the investigation of digestion, absorption components and health promoting aspects of foods.