Linking Gut Microbiome to Health Conditions

Newswise — Washington D.C. – IAFNS has joined with a nutritional science professional association to advance nutrition and gut microbiome research methods to promote health.

A new paper summarizes the topics and research discussed at a scientific session dedicated to guidelines and principles that will increase the accuracy, precision and comparability of microbiome research. Ultimately, more coordination of methods and rigorous standards will improve our understanding of the associations between the human microbiome and health and disease prevention.

According to the paper, “Technological advances have led to the development and proliferation of a wide range of tools and methods to collect, store, sequence and analyze microbiome samples. However, differences in methodology at each step in these analytic processes can lead to variability in results due to the unique biases and limitations of each component.”

The overall aim of the effort to harmonize approaches, methods and standards is to identify microbiome-targeted recommendations and treatments (e.g., fecal microbiota transplant; pre-, pro-, and post-biotics) that promote health.

To address this need, the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Nutritional Microbiology Group Engaging Members (GEM), with the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS), hosted a satellite session on methods in nutrition and gut microbiome research to review current methods.

The October 2022, meeting is summarized in the paper entitled “Methods in Nutrition & Gut Microbiome Research: An American Society for Nutrition Satellite Session.”

The microbial cells colonizing the human gut form an ecosystem that is integral to the regulation and maintenance of human health and this effort builds on those connections. Both bioinformatic and biostatistical steps require consideration of the characteristics of the data input and the desired data output and research objectives as these considerations drive choices of parameters and methods.

The authors conclude that “Continued development, validation and standardization of methods can help move microbiome research forward by increasing accuracy and precision of results. Clear description of methods by researchers in the dissemination of their results will enable greater inter-study comparability and validation of findings.”

The paper can be found here.

The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) is a 501(c)(3) science-focused nonprofit uniquely positioned to mobilize government, industry and academia to drive, fund and lead actionable research. This work was supported by IAFNS Gut Microbiome Committee. For more information, visit iafns.org.