Methodologies to study human intestinal absorption. A review

Concepts in risk assessment practice are expressed in terms of external exposure, while internal exposure determines whether toxic effects will occur. Often only a fraction of the ingested compound is absorbed external exposure, resulting in a lower internal exposure. The methodologies most commonly used to study the intestinal absorption of ingested compounds were reviewed. Since the use of these methodologies in (ad hoc) health risk assessment practice is of particular interest here, the methodologies were reviewed for their potential to provide a rapid and relatively inexpensive, accurate estimation of the human intestinal absorption of compounds. In vitro digestion and Caco-2 cell transport methods, which study the bioaccessibility and permeability across the intestinal epithelium of compounds, can be powerful tools for rapidly obtaining an indication of the human absorption of a compound from an arbitrary product e.g. pharmaceuticals, contaminants in food, toys and soil. The information obtained with the in vitro methods can, for example, be implemented in human exposure models, such as CONSEXPO, and can also contribute to a more rational and optimised health-risk assessment practice