Model Systems of Human Intestinal Flora, to Set Acceptable Daily Intakes of Antimicrobial Residues

Abstract

The veterinary use of antimicrobial drugs in food producing animals may result in residues in food, that might modify the consumer gut flora. This review compares three model systems that maintain a complex flora of human origin: (i) human flora associated (HFA) continuous flow cultures in chemostats, (ii) HFA mice, and (iii) human volunteers. The "No Microbial Effect Level" of an antibiotic on human flora, measured in one of these models, is used to set the accept¬able daily intake (ADI) for human consumers. Human volunteers trials are most relevant to set microbio¬log¬ical ADI, and may be considered as the "gold standard". However, human trials are very expensive and unethical. HFA chemostats are controlled systems, but tetracycline ADI calculated from a chemostat study is far above result of a human study. HFA mice studies are less expensive and better controlled than human trials. The tetracycline ADI derived from HFA mice studies is close to the ADI directly obtained in human volunteers.