Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster as Model Organisms in Biofactor Research

Model organisms play a central role in advancing our understanding of human nutrition and physiology. This narrative review highlights the unique advantages of the invertebrate models Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster for studying biofactors-diet-derived compounds that modulate biological functions. Both models offer powerful genetic toolkits, short life cycles, and cost-effective maintenance, enabling high-throughput and mechanistic investigations. Particular emphasis is placed on the availability of chemically defined diets, which allow precise manipulation of nutrient and biofactor composition. These features make C. elegans and D. melanogaster invaluable systems for dissecting the essentiality, bioavailability, and physiological impact of individual biofactors as illustrated by selected recent studies. Being ethically less problematic substitutes for mammalian models, both invertebrate models offer the possibility of closing the gap that often exists between in vitro and cell culture studies on the one hand and in vivo evaluation in animal experiments in laboratory rodents on the other. By integrating these model systems into experimental research, we can gain critical insights into biofactor-gene interactions and the molecular mechanisms underlying their health-promoting properties.