BN-R17_Illus
MRI to study digestion
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MRI to study digestion

Using MRI to study digestion

Gastrointestinal digestion is a complex, dynamic process during which food is broken down into absorbable nutrients. The structure of a food and the interactions between different foods ingested during a meal modify the way digestion proceeds. A non-invasive imaging method, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has enabled us to follow in vitro the disintegration of food pieces and access structural changes at different scales, such as the penetration of digestive enzymes into a heterogeneous food, the release of gas and the separation of fat.

The mock meal of bread and cheese pieces and water was used to study the gastric hydrolysis of the three main macronutrients - proteins, lipids and starch - and of foods with a broad size distribution and a certain rigidity (emmental, bread with a thick crust). The kinetics of imbibition by digestive fluid of solid food particles of realistic sizes, as well as their erosion, were characterized. Other phenomena, such as lipid creaming and material transfer from solid particles to the supernatant, were also highlighted.

 

BN-R17_Illus
MRI to study in vitro digestion of a bread-and-cheese meal © Maja Musse et Guylaine Collewet

These initial results confirm the strong potential of MRI for in vitro exploration of the digestion of realistic meals, and also lay the foundations for fully exploiting the capabilities of MRI for future in vivo studies.

Collaborations

  • UR OPAALE (IRM-Food team) https://opaale.rennes.hub.inrae.fr/recherche/equipes-de-recherche/irm-food

Read more

Musse M, Le Feunteun S, Collewet G, Ravilly M, Quellec S, Ossemond J, Morzel M, Challois S, Nau F, Lucas T. Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of a bread and cheese meal, Food Research International 2023, 169, 112821. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112821

Contact

Le Feunteun Steven (steven.le-feunteun@inrae.fr)
Musse Maja (maja.musse@inrae.fr)

Modification date: 10 April 2025 | Publication date: 08 April 2025 | By: STLO