Effects of digested onion extracts on intestinal gene expression using rat intestine slices

Rat small intestine precision cut slices were exposed for 6 hours to in vitro digested yellow (YOd) or white onion extracts (WOd) that was followed by transcriptomics analysis. The digestion was performed to mimic the digestion that in vivo takes place in the saliva, stomach and small intestine. A main question was to which extent the outcome of the biological interpretation of the transcription analysis (pathway analysis) depend on the model used. One outcome was that mainly processes related to oxidative stress, and especially the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway, were affected by onions in all three models.