GEN Article: Breath Can Deepen Our Understanding of the Microbiome
Published on: 27 Jun 2023
The publication GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News) provides industry news, insider information on tools and technologies; industry-standard protocols, tutorials, and technical articles. GEN has recently published an article written by our CEO Billy Boyle, and Scientific Content Writer Dr. Madeleine Ball, highlighting the potential of breath analysis as a non-invasive and user-friendly approach to studying the microbiome.
Microbes produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as metabolic byproducts, and these VOCs can be detected in exhaled breath. Analyzing breath samples for VOCs could provide valuable insights into microbial activity and serve as biomarkers in various contexts.
The article, titled: ‘Breath Can Deepen Our Understanding of the Microbiome‘ discusses the importance of understanding the microbiome and its role in human health and disease and how breath analysis offers several advantages over traditional invasive methods. These advantages include the intrinsic noninvasiveness of breath collection, cost-effectiveness, ease of collection, and potential for longitudinal monitoring.
“There is a strong link between the microbiome and mechanisms of disease, and deciphering the activity of an individual’s microbial colonies presents the opportunity to uncover new biomarkers. Through their own unique metabolic pathways, microbes can produce volatile metabolites, which are gaseous carbon-based molecules otherwise known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These compounds are made by a multitude of different processes within the body, but they can also originate exogenously. VOCs of microbial origin are produced through a variety of mechanisms. In the gut for example, VOCs can be produced as waste products from the metabolism and fermentation of food.”
Breath biomarker discovery with Breath Biopsy® has the potential to enable non-invasive precision medicine and symptom monitoring for microbiome-related diseases. If you are interested in using Breath Biopsy in your research or have any questions please get in touch.
