The source of dietary protein matters: plant-based proteins contributing to a healthy and sustainable diet – metagenomic and metabolomics approaches for human biomarkers identification

A food system enabling the achievement of a more environmentally sustainable diet demands a shift in consuming less animal and more plant-based protein.

The impact of plant-based proteins on health is unclear since studies have fundamental limitations regarding dietary intake and intraindividual variations.

Self-reported dietary intake is prone to errors and determine food impact on health is challenging due to the complexity of food matrix and individual aspects (e.g., nutritional needs, gut microbiota).

Biomarkers are indicative of food intake and its effects on health, and identifying markers for plant-based intake would pave the way to achieve a more sustainable and healthy diet.

We aim to create a methodological framework, including discovery and validation of novel biomarker panels to decipher the impact of plant-based protein intake on health biomarkers. We will conduct a dietary intervention and use cutting-edge techniques, such as metagenomics and metabolomics.

Blood, urine and faeces metabolomics will be integrated with microbiota functional annotation by building dependency networks and identifying biomarkers related to protein intake.

In this way, we expect to provide a high-resolution picture of bacteria-host-metabolism interactions caused by plant-based proteins and provide new functional insights and useful biomarkers.

Ultimately, the methodological framework and biomarkers panels will contribute to tailoring sustainably produced food with health benefits.