Human Breath Analysis May Support the Existence of Individual Metabolic Phenotypes

[Eugen Leitl]

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0059909

Abstract

The metabolic phenotype varies widely due to external factors such as diet
and gut microbiome composition, among others. Despite these temporal
fluctuations, urine metabolite profiling studies have suggested that there
are highly individual phenotypes that persist over extended periods of time.
This hypothesis was tested by analyzing the exhaled breath of a group of
subjects during nine days by mass spectrometry. Consistent with previous
metabolomic studies based on urine, we conclude that individual signatures of
breath composition exist. The confirmation of the existence of stable and
specific breathprints may contribute to strengthen the inclusion of breath as
a biofluid of choice in metabolomic studies. In addition, the fact that the
method is rapid and totally non-invasive, yet individualized profiles can be
tracked, makes it an appealing approach.