ReviewKeynoteIn vitro bioassays to evaluate beneficial and adverse health effects of botanicals: promises and pitfalls

- In vitro assays for detecting health effects of botanicals are discussed.
- Pitfalls and promises of using in vitro assays for testing botanicals are presented.
- Extrapolation of in vitro results to the in vivo situation is possible.
- Chemometrics in determining active ingredients in botanicals is essential.

This review provides an update on the promises and pitfalls when using in vitro bioassays to evaluate beneficial and adverse health effects of botanicals and botanical preparations. Important issues addressed in the paper are: (i) the type of assays and biological effects available; (ii) false-positives, false-negatives and confounding factors; (iii) matrix and combination effects; (iv) extrapolation of in vitro data to the in vivo situation; (v) when (not) to use bioassays; and (vi) identification of active constituents. It is concluded that in vitro bioassays provide models to detect beneficial as well as adverse activities, but that linking these observations to individual ingredients and extrapolations to the in vivo situation is more complicated than generally anticipated.