Physiologically based kinetic (PBK) modeling as a tool to quantify the role of gut microbial metabolism in the in vivo effects of the foodborne estrogens daidzein and zearalenone.

The aim of the present thesis was to characterize the role of gut microbial metabolism in the toxicity of daidzein and zearalenone (ZEN) by including gut microbiota in physiologically based kinetic (PBK) models and applying these models for quantitative in vitro to in vivo extrapolations (QIVIVE). The results obtained provide proofs-of-principle for application of this novel approach methodology (NAM) for alternatives in animal testing, characterizing the consequences of the metabolism by the gut microbiota for toxicity of foodborne chemicals in the host without a need for in vivo studies in experimental animals or human intervention studies.