New research highlighted by HCPLive suggests that exhaled breath could become a noninvasive, real-time readout of gut microbiome activity, opening a potential new diagnostic frontier.
In studies spanning humans, mice, and in-vitro models, researchers showed that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detected in breath reflect metabolites produced by gut microbes. In healthy children, breath compounds closely matched the metabolic signatures of microbes found in stool. In germ-free mice, transplanting gut bacteria led to detectable microbial signals in breath—directly linking intestinal microbes to breath chemistry.Notably, breath profiles were also able to predict disease-associated microbes. In children with asthma, breath samples identified the presence of Eubacterium siraeum, a bacterium linked to the condition—suggesting breath analysis could flag microbiome-associated disease states without stool or blood testing.