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Bioassays - Introduction and general principle - An organism

4 important questions on Bioassays - Introduction and general principle - An organism

On what are in vivo models based?

Using a intact organism to detect a compound.

What are the positive things of a organismal bioassay?

They react on a white range of chemicals
Reflects the actual risks that chemicals in food may pose to organisms.
Some compounds are activated trough the metabolic pathways of an organism in order to become toxic.

What is the mouse bioassay (MBA)?

A mouse is injected with a sample that might be toxic. Now you see how the mouse reacts. In the case of Clostridium botulinum the mouse should show neurotic symptoms before dying.

What are the drawbacks of the in vivo BMA?

unethical: the sacrifice of a large number of animals is involved
a colony of mice between 19 g and 22 g in weight must be maintained
detection limit of the assay is strain-dependent - death time versus toxin level is non-linear
very labour-intensive to determine accurately the death time
sensitive to confounding factors many false positives and negatives
not sufficiently sensitive in detecting the toxin for the protection of human health

In spite of these difficulties, MBA still is the official method in many countries