Hypothesis review: The direct interaction of food nanoparticles with the lymphatic system

Besides digestion and assimilation, there are other modes of direct interaction between food and human body. As it is known, the mucosal layer of the digestive tract interfaces with food after the digestion process. It has been demonstrated to uptake the micro- and nanoparticles via mucosa-associated lymphatic tissues (MALT). On the other hand, food is a typical polydisperse system and contains micro- and nanoparticles with different sizes and properties. Accordingly, it is hypothesized that food nanoparticles can directly interact with MALT and more specifically with the support of the preliminary experimental data from our research, that antioxidant nanoparticles can interact with the lymphatic vessels. This kind of interaction would be of great physiological importance. The confirmation of the hypothesis will establish a significant and novel approach to understand food system and provide answers to currently incomprehensible phenomena such as the biological functions of phytochemicals with low bioavailability.