Last year, our partner Biovis introduced the metabolome analysis. This analysis measures metabolites produced by microorganisms in the gut. This shifts the analysis from the question "who is present?" to "what are they doing?". This adds an extra layer of precision that can help with the personalized treatment of patients, as it can show more than just the numbers of microorganisms.
For example, it may happen that no pathogen is present in high numbers in the microbiome analysis and proteobacteria are also low, while the metabolome analysis shows high levels of toxic metabolites. In such a case, this gives an indication of overactive pathogens that might otherwise be missed, but is an important starting point for treatment.
You may have already seen the "metabolome" component in the traditional Biovis microbiome analysis. However, it was not the actual metabolites that were measured, but the numbers of bacteria that can produce certain metabolites (such as TMA/TMAO or equol). The new metabolome analysis, on the other hand, measures the metabolites themselves.
The metabolome analysis is available separately, or as part of the so-called Microbolome analysis, in which microbiome and metabolome measurements are combined.
Easy translation of metabolome results into treatment choices
The Biovis metabolome analysis has been providing valuable insights for some time, and Microbiome Center has now simplified the translation of these results into targeted treatment recommendations. We have integrated the results of the metabolome analysis into our Advisory Guide. This makes it possible to (1) automatically assign scores when you import the Biovis data, and (2) include the metabolome results in the personalized treatment.
To link metabolome results to ingredients, we used the approach we have been using for years and recently published in Beneficial Microbes. In doing so, we assess all the available evidence for all ingredients, and we have now expanded the effects to which we screen the literature with effects on metabolites. For example, scientific research shows that our Bifidobacterium adolescentis SH001 has the genes to produce GABA, and that this strain excels in the production of GABA in vitro. A second example is our E. coli MC231, which can produce indole and various indole derivatives, as well as stimulate serotonin production.
Just as we did before for complaints, medical background and faecal analysis results, we have processed all these effects on metabolites per ingredient in our Advisory Aid. The algorithm takes this into account when generating a proposal for personalized treatment. This means that metabolome data is automatically included and it has become very easy for you as a practitioner to use this data in a targeted way in the treatment of patients.