Exhaled breath contains thousand metabolites and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that originated from both respiratory tract and internal organ systems and their microbiomes. Commensal and pathogenic bacteria and virus of microbiomes are capable of producing VOCs of different chemical classes, and some of them may serve as biomarkers for installation and progression of various common human diseases. Here we describe qualitative and quantitative methods for measuring VOC fingerprints generated by cellular and microbial metabolic and pathologic pathways. We describe different chemical classes of VOCs and their role in the host cell-microbial interactions and their impact on infection disease pathology. We also update on recent progress on VOC signatures emitted by isolated bacterial species and microbiomes, and VOCs identified in exhaled breath of patients with respiratory tract and gastrointestinal diseases, and inflammatory syndromes, including the acute respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis. The VOC curated databases and instrumentations have been developed through statistically robust breathomic research in large patient populations. Scientists have now the opportunity to find potential biomarkers for both triage and diagnosis of particular human disease.

呼气中含有数千种代谢物和挥发性有机化合物（VOC），它们分别来自呼吸道和内部器官系统及其微生物群。微生物的共生和致病细菌和病毒能够产生不同化学类别的VOC，其中一些可以作为各种人类常见疾病的发生和发展的生物标记。在这里，我们描述了用于测量由细胞和微生物代谢和病理途径产生的VOC指纹的定性和定量方法。我们描述了VOCs的不同化学类别及其在宿主细胞-微生物相互作用中的作用及其对感染疾病病理的影响。我们还将更新由孤立的细菌物种和微生物群落发出的VOC签名的最新进展，以及在呼吸道和胃肠道疾病以及炎性综合征（包括急性呼吸窘迫综合征和败血症）患者呼出气中发现的挥发性有机化合物。VOC精选的数据库和仪器是通过对大量患者群体进行统计上可靠的呼吸动力学研究而开发的。如今，科学家有机会找到用于分类和诊断特定人类疾病的潜在生物标志物。