Advances in the study of liver microsomes in the in vitro metabolism and toxicity evaluation of foodborne contaminants

Abstract

Foodborne contaminants are closely related to anthropologic activities and represent an important food safety hazard. The study of metabolic transformation and toxic side effects of foodborne contaminants in the body is important for their safety assessment. Liver microsomes contain a variety of enzymes related to substance metabolism and biotransformation. An in vitro model simulating liver metabolic transformation is associated with a significant advantage in the study of the metabolic transformation mechanisms of contaminants_. This review summarizes the recent progress in the application of liver microsomes in metabolic transformation and toxicity evaluation of various foodborne pollutants based on metabolic kinetics, molecular docking and enzyme inhibition studies. The purpose of this review is to distinguish the existing studies involving liver microsomes and provide strategies for their application in the future. Finally, the prospects and challenges of the liver microsomal model are discussed.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Foodborne pollutants
• liver microsomes
• metabolic transformation
• toxicity evaluation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32125031), National first-class discipline program of Food Science and Technology (JUFSTR20180303), Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, Jiangnan University.