Effects of the food colorant Allura Red AC on mimetic systems of the lipid structure of the cell membrane of the gastrointestinal tract

• Grant number: 23/00291-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Carlos José Leopoldo Constantino
• Grantee: Carlos Junior Amorim Lessa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/22214-6 - Towards a convergence of technologies: from sensing and biosensing to information visualization and machine learning for data analysis in clinical diagnosis, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/15385-7 - Spectroscopic and microscopic studies on the interaction of model membranes and the food dye Allura Red AC, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

The synthetic dye Allura Red AC, used to give color and texture in industrialized foods, is present in candies, breakfast cereals, drinks and industrialized snacks. However, due to its allergic and toxicological potential, it should be monitored. Recently, for example, it was published in the journal Nature Communication that frequent consumption of foods containing the dye Allura Red AC may increase the risk of developing inflammatory intestinal diseases. In this context, an efficient way to obtain information about the effects of chemical compounds such as dye on the body and avoid the complexity of in vivo systems is the study of the interaction with artificial structures that behave as cells (plasma membranes) in terms of chemical composition, size and fluidity, and organized in mono and lipid bilayers. Therefore, this project aims to investigate the possible effects of food dye Allura Red AC on mimetic systems of the lipid structure of the plasma membrane of the cells of the gastrointestinal tract, using Langmuir films to form the lipid monolayers and giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to form the lipid bilayers. Vesicles will be produced by electroforming technique, in order to preserve the size of eukaryotic cells. The lipid classes found in greater abundance in the intestinal cells are phosphatidylcholines, phosphoethanolamines and sphingomyelines. Thus, lipids 1-palmitoil-2-oleoil-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (POPC), 1,2-Dioleoil-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) and sphingomyelin (SM) will be used in this project.