Bioscreen Faecal Microbial Analysis

What is Faecal Microbial Analysis (FMA)?

A Faecal Microbial Analysis provides a live count of the actual flora in your gut at the time of your sample.

The FMA test analyses the gut microbiota using classical culture, and most up-to-date identification techniques. Many scientists (including clinical microbiologists) regard this technique as the ‘Gold Standard’ for microbiological testing (The Rebirth of Culture in Microbiology through the Example of Culturomics To Study Human Gut Microbiota, J-C. Lagier et al, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 2015, 28,1, 237-264).

The FMA Test is a comprehensive analysis of the gut microbiota from the large intestinal tract. Bioscreen cultures, quantifies and identifies these bacteria. These organisms include organisms that can grow in the presence of air (aerobic bacteria, yeasts) such as coliforms, Enterococcus, and Streptococcus spp and organisms that cannot grow in the presence of air (anaerobic bacteria) such as Bacteroides, Eubacterium, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Clostridium. We also culture yeasts such as Candida, Saccharomyces spp.

Bioscreen identifies all gut bacteria by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry technique. MALDI-TOF is an acronym for Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight spectrometry. The MALDI-TOF is a state of the art analyser where bacteria are vaporized using a laser beam to produce a cloud of peptide molecules (small protein molecules). These peptides are separated in the spectrometer to produce a spectrum of different size peptides or a ‘Peptide Fingerprint’. The peptide fingerprint that is characteristic of each bacterium. MALDI-TOF spectrometry is reliable and can identify many thousands of distinct bacterial species.

Routine stool examination as performed in other and mainstream pathology laboratories is focussed on isolating enteric pathogens. Bioscreen testing, by way of contrast, provide quantitative data on commensal gut bacteria, but not enteric pathogens like food poisoning organism.

A comprehensive report is produced detailing the microbiology of your faecal sample. The report will allow your practitioner to give advice on how a change of the gut microbiota, if identified by the test, may be corrected. This advice can include modification to your diet, a diet specifically targeted for your gut microbiota, the use of probiotics and in some cases specialised antimicrobial herbs or antibiotic therapy. Bioscreen does not give therapeutic advice directly to patients. Scientists from Bioscreen are always available to give advice to the healthcare practitioner who, for medicolegal requirements, must always take responsibility for patient's care.

This fee is for the interpretation of your results and your health plan moving forwards; you pay Bioscreen directly for the test. (AUD$505 including international freight) FMA follow up test within 6 months (AUD$405 including international freight).

Your FMA Report includes:

• Faecal Aerobes
• Faecal Anaerobes
• Faecal Yeasts
• The ratio of the two main microbiome groups which correlates with obesity.
• Learn how old your gut microbiome is. Includes your gut age relative to your chronological age.
• Dietary profiling of your gut microbiome to determine how your dietary intake is affecting your microbiome.
• Species level identification of the abundant gut commensals.

Note: This is a monitoring tool not a diagnostic tool.

There are 3 options for this Test:

1. Pay for the test directly with Bioscreen, and have me interpret the results for you.  Currently the test is AUD$505 including postage to send your sample via Toll International Courier which you can book from the convenience of your home. 
2. Order the Test through me and I will arrange for it to be despatched to you and you return it directly to BioScreen, and have me interpret the results for you.
3. Have a consultation before your test, complete your test ordered through me, and a post-test consultation.

The test kit is valid for 3 months so if you do buy it and can't do it straight away because you are not well, that is okay.

Click the link below to see how the faecal sample collection for the test is done, and for more detailed information of what is in the test results.