Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have shown that exhaled breath can reflect the composition of the gut microbiome, opening the door to a rapid, noninvasive way to assess gut health. The findings were published in Cell Metabolism.
The study demonstrates that gut microbes release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during digestion, which are expelled through the lungs and detectable in breath. By analyzing breath and stool samples from healthy children, researchers found a strong correspondence between specific breath compounds and the microbes present in the gut. Similar results were confirmed in mouse models, strengthening the biological link between gut microbiota and breath signatures.