Effects of dietary nutrients on volatile breath metabolites

Abstract

Breath analysis is becoming increasingly established as a means of assessing metabolic, biochemical and physiological function in health and disease. The methods available for these analyses exploit a variety of complex physicochemical principles, but are becoming more easily utilised in the clinical setting. Whilst some of the factors accounting for the biological variation in breath metabolite concentrations have been clarified, there has been relatively little work on the dietary factors that may influence them. In applying breath analysis to the clinical setting, it will be important to consider how these factors may affect the interpretation of endogenous breath composition. Diet may have complex effects on the generation of breath compounds. These effects may either be due to a direct impact on metabolism, or because they alter the gastrointestinal flora. Bacteria are a major source of compounds in breath, and their generation of H2, hydrogen cyanide, aldehydes and alkanes may be an indicator of the health of their host.

Review article: breath analysis in inflammatory bowel diseases

“…Absorbed carbohydrates on the other hand are converted to acetyl CoA by glycolysis of simple monosaccharides. Acetyl CoA enters one of several pathways: (i) consumption in the Krebs cycle for generation of ATP, (ii) production of acetoacetyl CoA, which then undergoes the process of ketogenesis, further evolving into acetone that can be detected in breath or (iii) acetoacetyl CoA may also enter the HMG‐CoA pathway and lead to cholesterol production with isoprene being one of the intermediaries …”

Applications of Near Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy for Analysis of Human Respiration: A Review

“…Various volatile compounds can be present in human breath depending on nutrition, metabolic state including diseases and medication, microbial infections and personal oral hygiene [187,188]. Volatile metabolites in exhaled human breath come from several sources such as: the inspired air, the microorganisms in the mouth and/or nose, system lung, gastrointestinal tract, and human metabolism [189].…”

The role of direct high-resolution mass spectrometry in foodomics

“…Although there are some established and emerging clinical applications of breath analysis [58], the full potential of PTR-TOF MS to study complex effects of dietary factors on the generation of breath compounds has not yet been exploited. Some works have demonstrated the usefulness of PTR-TOF MS to investigate relationships between pathologies induced by dietary regime and breath composition [59].…”