Abstract
The potential for transforming nutritional and health research through the discovery and application of non-invasive markers of dietary intake and metabolic status is profound. The science of metabolomics for the fingerprinting of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from expired human breath holds great promise in this regard. Coupled with tools utilising sensor technology, breath volatile signatures allow a new horizon of research in which indicators of metabolic risk and indicators of dietary intake could be collected at a population level with unprecedented simplicity and low cost. Metabolomics (measuring metabolites from physiological process) provides a “window into the body”, which could transform how we measure health, how we identify and monitor people most at risk of disease and the way we monitor food intake. [...]
Highlights
Coupled with tools utilising sensor technology, breath volatile signatures allow a new horizon of research in which indicators of metabolic risk and indicators of dietary intake could be collected at a population level with unprecedented simplicity and low cost
The use of metabolomics for the fingerprinting of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from expired human breath, coupled with tools utilising sensor technology, allow a new horizon of research in which indicators of metabolic risk and indicators of dietary intake could be collected at a population level with unprecedented simplicity and low cost
Perhaps through the application of metabolomics in human nutrition through non-invasive methodologies we will realise the aspiration of personalised nutrition which has yet to be realised
Summary
Amongst the greatest challenges in human nutrition is characterising dietary intakes in the short and long term and relating these exposures to health outcomes. The potential for transforming nutritional and health research through the discovery and application of non-invasive markers of dietary intake and metabolic status is profound. The systematic comparison of metabolic profiles of individuals exposed to different diets or to varying risk of diseases using metabolomics approaches, opens exciting avenues to better understand the role of the diet in the aetiology of chronic diseases. This will be illustrated with examples of applications in nutritional and cancer epidemiology. Main challenges met in the application of metabolomics to cohort studies will be emphasized
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