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Scientists have developed a breakthrough methodology to trace food regimen utilizing stool metagenomic information.
Developed by researchers on the Institute for Methods Biology (ISB), the brand new methodology, known as MEDI (Metagenomic Estimation of Dietary Consumption), detects food-derived DNA in stool samples to estimate dietary consumption. MEDI leverages stool metagenomics, which refers to sequencing all of the DNA current in fecal samples (together with microbial, human, and food-derived DNA). This non-invasive, data-driven strategy affords an goal different to conventional meals diaries and questionnaires, that are nonetheless the gold normal in dietary evaluation however can endure from misreporting and compliance points.
The complete research is revealed in Nature Metabolism.
“For decades, nutrition research has depended on self-reported diaries and questionnaires—approaches that require a high degree of effort and compliance from research participants. How many strawberries did I eat two days ago? Did I have one glass of orange juice with breakfast, or two?” stated Dr. Christian Diener, lead creator of the research. “MEDI provides a solution by analyzing food-derived DNA in gut metagenomic samples, offering a convenient alternative that shows good agreement with known dietary and nutritional intake patterns.”
Key findings:
A substitute for questionnaire-based food regimen monitoring: Leveraging a database of greater than 400 meals objects and over 300 billion base pairs of genomic info, MEDI precisely detected meals consumption patterns in infants and adults, and throughout two managed feeding research. MEDI
Connecting dietary consumption to vitamin: MEDI converts the relative abundance profile of particular meals objects into nutrient profiles, assuming a 100 gram portion. These nutrient profiles present good settlement with information from managed feeding research.
Recognized diet-related well being dangers: With out meals logs, MEDI pinpointed dietary options linked to metabolic syndrome in a big scientific cohort.
“Our study represents a major leap forward in how we track diet and its impacts on human health,” stated ISB Affiliate Professor Dr. Sean Gibbons, senior creator of the research. “With food-derived DNA signatures in stool, we now have a powerful way to measure diet and microbiome composition from the same sample, which will expand our understanding of the forces shaping the human gut microbiome, personalized nutritional responses, and disease risk.”
With additional growth, MEDI may rework vitamin science, epidemiological research, and scientific trials, permitting researchers, docs, and people to trace diet-related well being dangers with unprecedented ease.
Extra info:
Metagenomic estimation of dietary consumption from human stool, Nature Metabolism (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01220-1
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Institute for Methods Biology
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Scientists decode food regimen from stool DNA, no questions requested (2025, February 18)
retrieved 18 February 2025
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