Method for Determining Bacterial Metabolites for Individualized Nutritional Adjustment

Simple SummaryContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

This patent describes a method and associated kit for determining the capacity of an individual's gut microbiome to produce specific bacterial metabolites, by measuring both the abundance and expression of bacterial genes involved in the production of those metabolites. The invention uses quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) with degenerate primers that can detect gene expression across multiple bacterial species, allowing clinicians to assess how the gut microbiome may influence health. The results can be used to guide personalized dietary recommendations to optimize metabolite production for disease prevention and therapy, especially for chronic or inflammatory disease conditions.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Personalized nutritional counseling based on an individual's gut microbiome profile.
• Monitoring patients with chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel diseases to guide dietary interventions.
• Assessing risk or presence of disease conditions linked to dysbiosis by analyzing gut microbial metabolic capacity.
• Optimizing diet in research studies aiming to understand the diet-microbiome-disease axis.
• Tracking changes in microbiome function over time in response to dietary or probiotic interventions.
• Routine clinical laboratory assessments or at point-of-care settings to quickly inform diet and health strategies.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enables truly personalized nutritional planning based on the current functional capacity (not just composition) of the gut microbiome.
• Provides a rapid, robust, and clinically practical alternative to expensive and complex mass spectrometry or sequencing approaches.
• Allows high-throughput and straightforward testing, compatible with standard clinical lab equipment (qPCR platforms).
• Can detect both the abundance (potential) and actual gene expression (activity) related to key bacterial metabolites, giving a more precise insight into microbiome function.
• Facilitates early detection of dysbiosis-related health risks and informs targeted preventative or therapeutic strategies, improving overall patient outcomes.
• Supports ongoing monitoring and adjustment of individualized nutrition, increasing patient adherence and effectiveness of interventions.
• Applicable to a wide range of sample types (stool, biopsy, swab, etc.).
• Reduces technical variability compared to metabolite measurement in blood or urine, leading to more robust and reproducible diagnostics.

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Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining a production capacity of multiple bacterial metabolites in a subject by quantifying an expression level and an abundance of each of multiple bacterial genes, said genes encoding enzymes associated with the production of said bacterial metabolites. The invention further relates to a kit for quantifying an expression level and an abundancy of each of multiple bacterial genes associated with the production of multiple bacterial metabolites. The invention further relates to oligonucleotides, such as primers and probes, suitable for the inventive method and/or kit, and to sets of corresponding primers and probes.