Contribute to scientific discoveries with a simple action. This is the goal of the “French gut” donors, an initiative led in particular by Inrae, AP-HP, Inserm and AgroParisTech and launched in September. The scientists’ goal is to map and understand the French gut microbiota when receiving faeces from volunteers. Officials want to collect 100,000 fecal samples by 2027.
A microbiota is “all microorganisms: bacteria, viruses, parasites and non-pathogenic fungi” that “live in a specific environment”, explains Inserm on its site.
The intestinal microbiota is the most “populated” microbiota in the human body, according to Inserm. By developing knowledge about this set of microorganisms, the project partners hope to help find “new personalized therapeutic solutions” that “improve health and reduce the costs associated with chronic diseases that have been constantly increasing in recent years (diabetes , obesity, cancer, allergies, inflammatory bowel diseases, etc.)”
It is about determining the factors, for example lifestyle or nutritional factors, that influence the intestinal microbiota and its link with chronic diseases.
How to give?
Participation is open to all adults residing in metropolitan France. To do this, you need to register on the project site, then answer a questionnaire about your eating and health habits. You then receive a home collection kit, with an explanatory note.
People who have had a colectomy or digestive stoma or who have taken antibiotics or had a colonoscopy in the previous three months are not eligible.
Participants will have access to collective scientific feedback. The cost of the project is estimated at 32 million euros over 5 years.
Source: BFM TV
