Impact of food intake on exhaled breath VOC profiles using a self-developed e-nose

The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath offers promising insights into metabolic processes and their changes in response to food intake. This study investigates the impact of food intake on exhaled breath VOC profiles using a custom-built electronic nose system. The primary objective was to differentiate the exhaled breath profile before and after food intake at various time intervals. A cohort of 35 healthy, non-smoking individuals was selected for the study. Breath samples were collected and analyzed at four key time points: before food intake, ten minutes post intake, one hour post intake, and two hours post intake. The collected VOC data were subjected to analysis using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification model. The SVM model successfully differentiated breath samples taken before food intake from those taken ten minutes after with an accuracy of 71%, and from those taken one hour after with an accuracy of 69%. However, no significant difference was observed in the breath profiles between the baseline (before food intake) and two hours post intake. These findings suggest that the exhaled VOC profile is significantly influenced by recent food intake, particularly within the first hour. The lack of significant differences between the baseline and two hours post intake indicates a potential stabilization of metabolic changes induced by food. This study demonstrates the potential of using electronic nose technology for monitoring dietary impacts on metabolic processes through VOC analysis in exhaled breath.