Food DNA Digestion

This pilot study investigates the digestion rate of naturally occurring food DNA through the human digestive tract by detecting residual food DNA in stool samples. The investigators hypothesize that food DNA primarily transits through the digestive system within 24 hours, with maximal detection in stool samples collected the day after ingestion. Previous research has focused on food DNA digestion in human gastric juices, leaving digestion through the entire gut largely unexplored. This study employs a fixed-order within subjects design involving healthy participants. Each participant will submit a baseline stool sample, consume a single dose of a study-specific powdered food (reconstituted in water) differing from their usual diet, and provide the subsequent five stool samples. If five samples are collected in fewer than five days, an additional sample will be obtained on the fifth day post-consumption. The presence and decline of food specific DNA in these samples will be quantified using qPCR, enabling us to determine the digestion rate of food DNA. The study design poses with minimal risk as it non-invasively monitors the natural process of food DNA digestion and transit through stool sample analysis.

Inclusion Criteria: * Above age 18? * Able to provide stool samples at no risk to the participant? * Does the participant have card access to the MSRBIII building, and is the participant able to visit this building (at times of the participant's convenience) for the purposes of this study? Exclusion Criteria: * Already consume camu camu, maqui or kelp in typical diet? * Have a history or current diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome? * Have a history or current diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease? * Have a history or current diagnosis of type 2 diabetes? * Have a history or current diagnosis of chronic kidney disease with decreased kidney function? * Have a history or current diagnosis of intestinal obstruction? * Have a history or current diagnosis of untreated colorectal cancer? * Has the participant had a colonoscopy within the past month?