John Van Camp lab

Prof. Dr. ir. John Van Camp

Email: John.Vancamp@UGent.be

Website: https://www.ugent.be/bw/foodscience/en/research

Research topic

  • Development of in vitro cell culture models to be used for intelligent combination of in vitro digestion, transport and bioactivity models, with the objective to evaluate in vitro in a more realistic way the potential of bioactives in human nutrition.
  • Use of more realistic conditions under which bioactives act, with focus on endogenous metabolites applied under realistic concentrations and duration times and in combination with repeated exposures.
  • Use of cell (co-) cultures (intestinal, endothelial, liver) in human nutrition.
  • Characterisation of metabolites during digestion, absorption and metabolism (HPLC and UPLC-DAD, UPLC-HDMS-QTOF).
  • Combining digestion, transport (absorption) with bioactivity studies on cardiovascular effects, anti-obesity effects, cell respiration and toxicity, immune activity, cancer.
  • Applied to the following bioactives: peptides and proteins, plant metabolites (polyphenols), vitamins, trace-elements, new sugars, new chemicals and drugs.

Areas of expertise

  • Development of a combined bioavailability and bioactivity in vitro screening assay to study the effect of dietary polyphenols and dietary peptides on cardiovascular markers (EU-BACCHUS)
  • Improving Ecuadorian child nutrition by using mango by-products as potential sources of bioactive compounds (VLIR-TEAM)
  • Impact of cellular stress on flavonoid bioavailability and bioactivity assessed by an improved in vitro model of endothelial dysfunction (FWO-SB)
  • Influence of (processed) red meat on colon cancer: a new in vitro approach (FWO)
  • Cost-efficient synthesis of health-promoting glycobioses (GlycoProFit) (FWO-SBO S003617N)
  • Knowledge platform: tailoring food protein functionality by rational design of fibrillar structures (PROFIBFUN) (FWO-SBO S005217N)
  • Cultured stem cells for customized meat design (CUSTOMEAT) (FWO-SBO S002821N)

Selected publications

  1. Vermeirssen, V., Van Camp, J. & Verstraete, W. (2004). Bioavailability of angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory peptides. British Journal of Nutrition, 92(3), 357-366.
  2. Gonzales, G. B., Smagghe, G., Grootaert, C., Zotti, M., Raes, K. & Van Camp, J. (2015). Flavonoid interactions during digestion, absorption, distribution and metabolism: a sequential structure-activity/property relationship-based approach in the study of bioavailability and bioactivity. Drug Metabolism Reviews, 47(2), 175-190.
  3. Toaldo, I. M., Van Camp, J., Gonzales, G. B., Kamiloglu, S., Bordignon-Luiz, M.T., Smagghe, G., Raes, K., Capanoglu, E. & Grootaert, C. (2016). Resveratrol improves TNF-alpha-induced endothelial dysfunction in a co-culture model of a Caco-2 with an endothelial cell line. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 36, 21-30.
  4. Van Rymenant, E., Abranko, L., Tumova, S., Grootaert, C., Van Camp, J., Williamson, G. & Kerimi, A. (2017). Chronic exposure to short-chain fatty acids modulates transport and metabolism of microbiome-derived phenolics in human intestinal cells. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 39, 156-168.
  5. Vissenaekens, H., Grootaert, C., Rajkovic, A., De Schutter, K., Raes, K., Smagghe, G., Van de Wiele, T. & Van Camp, J. (2019). Cell line-dependent increase in cellular quercetin accumulation upon stress induced by valinomycin and lipopolysaccharide, but not by TNF-alpha. Food Research International, 125, 108596.

Partners and sponsors