Whispers of the Gut Microbiome
In this paper, it was hypothesised that an individual’s breath contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which correlate with the composition of said individual.
It is well documented that the gut microbiome is a key component to one’s general health, and ways of assessing the compositions of the gut microbiome has previously been either by stool sample, or taking samples using an endoscope, both embarrassing and invasive for the patient.
At the beginning of this month, a paper from a group in Washington, USA was published exploring another way of assessing the makeup of the gut microbiome. In this paper, it was hypothesised that an individual’s breath contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which correlate with the composition of said individual's gut microbiome.
Mouse gut microbiomes were monocolonised using cultures grown in the lab, and variant mouse gut microbiomes were colonised using human-stool cultures. The breath of each group of mice contained differing VOCs that corresponded to the gut microbiome present in each mouse.
Furthermore, this group showed that exhaled breath can be used to determine the presence of disease-associated bacteria in the gut. In the case they used they found a higher abundance of VOCs associated with Eubacterium siraeum in children with asthma.
This research demonstrates the influence the gut microbiome has on the composition of the mammalian exhaled breath and contribute to the development of non-invasive, or even “at home” tests for gut microbiome diagnostics.
Read the paper, leave a rating and let us know what you think!
