PINT OF SCIENCE FESTIVAL
13-15 MAY 2024
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Our gut from the inside out
The fuel of our body is derived from food, but first the food needs to be digested into small pieces that can be used by our body. That is where the gastrointestinal tract comes in. But did you know that the upper gastrointestinal tract also plays a crucial role for the uptake of medicine and that even a glass of Coca-Cola may have an influence? In addition, our lower gastrointestinal tract and more specific the microbiota of our gut, can nowadays be linked to global health problems like obesity and depression. Tonight, our experts will explain the gastrointestinal tract from the inside out!
The Flemish Gut Flora Project
Gwen Falony
Post-doctoral researcher
VIB, KULeuven
The initial set-up of the Flemish Gut Flora Project aimed at defining the boundaries of the health-associated gut microbiota and identifying host and lifestyle covariates that affect composition and metabolic potential without necessarily causing disease. The idea behind this population-wide microbiome monitoring effort was that characterization of dysbiosis requires a thorough understanding of normal ecosystem variation. Pioneering in microbiome research, the FGFP approach has enabled the identification of microbiota alterations linked to obesity and bowel inflammation, but also depression and well-being.
Living inside the gut: what happens with a drug after oral intake?
Bart Hens
Post-doctoral researcher
KULeuven
What happens with a drug after oral intake? Which different barriers does a drug need to conquer in order to reach the blood stream? Bart Hens will give a pleasant overview of the anatomy and physiology of the human gastrointestinal tract and how this environment may have a major impact on the behavior of a drug inside the gut. In addition, a clinical study that was performed at the University Hospitals Leuven will be briefly discussed that wanted to investigate the impact of Coca-Cola® on the absorption of a drug.
