Metabolon Expands Microbiome Panel to Strengthen Industry Leadership in Functional Microbiome Research

Enhanced panel screens for more than 800 microbiome-associated metabolites, giving researchers a broader view of microbial activity linked to human health, nutrition, disease, and treatment response

MORRISVILLE, N.C., July 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Metabolon, Inc., the global leader in metabolomics solutions advancing life science research, diagnostics, therapeutics, and precision medicine, today announced an expansion of its Microbiome Panel, further strengthening the company's position in one of the fastest-growing areas of multiomic research.

The enhanced Microbiome Panel enables researchers to screen for more than 800 metabolites that were carefully curated with literature support for their association with microbial activity, including expanded coverage of food and nutrition-related metabolites, host-microbiome interactions, and disease-relevant biology. Designed for principal investigators, microbiome researchers, and pharmaceutical teams supporting multiomic studies, the panel provides the life science industry's most comprehensive view of the microbiome's functional outputs.

As microbiome research shifts from community profiling toward functional understanding, researchers increasingly need tools that reveal not only which microbes are present, but what they do and how their activity affects the host. Metagenomic sequencing characterizes microbial community composition and functional potential; metabolomics captures the small molecules that microbes produce, transform, or influence — molecular outputs that help explain links between microbial activity and host immune response, disease progression, nutrition, treatment response, and overall well-being.

"Microbial metabolites are not just markers of microbiome differences — they are agents of biological change," said Rohan Hastie, CEO of Metabolon. "By expanding our Microbiome Panel, we are giving researchers more opportunities to discover the molecular mechanisms connecting microbial activity to host health. Greater metabolite coverage means greater discovery potential, with deeper and broader insight into the many ways the microbiome impacts biology."

The enhanced panel reports on key outputs of microbial activity across broad biology and chemical classes, including short-chain fatty acids; primary and secondary bile acids; tryptophan and indole metabolites; amino acid metabolites, including aromatic compounds; diet and drug-related metabolites; antibiotics; xenobiotics; and more than 70 additional biochemical pathways. Absolute quantitation of short-chain fatty acids enables comparison of these microbially derived biomarkers with values reported in scientific literature. Food metabolites are among the most rapidly expanding areas of biology on the new panel, enabling researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the relationships among nutrition, microbial activity, and health outcomes. 

The expanded panel is part of Metabolon's broader Microbiome Research Solution, which combines metabolomics, metagenomics, and integrated bioinformatics to help researchers generate, connect, and interpret microbiome data. Researchers can opt to pair the Microbiome Panel with amplicon sequencing, shotgun sequencing at multiple read depths, or "bring-your-own" metagenomics data. Researchers may also pair metagenomics with Metabolon's Global Discovery Panel to achieve comprehensive coverage of metabolites influenced by microbial activity, as well as metabolites generated by the host.

Metabolon's Integrated Bioinformatics Platform enables intuitive integration of metabolomics and metagenomics datasets, with 12 data visualization tools that support metagenomics analysis, multiomic integration, and deep metabolomics exploration. Capabilities include interactive QC reporting, diversity analysis, relative abundance plots, cladograms, hierarchical clustering, ANCOM volcano plots, taxon set enrichment, DIABLO analysis, Circos plots, integrated correlation analysis, and microbial pathway analysis – all can be set up in seconds via dropdown menus without requiring any coding.

The enhanced panel provides a scalable way to meet growing demand for high-quality metabolomics that integrates with sequencing and phenotypic data. For researchers and biopharma teams, the panel supports biomarker identification, mechanism-of-action research, nutrition studies, drug discovery, clinical trials, treatment-response research, and multiomic analyses that are not possible with sequencing alone.

"Metabolon is a one-stop shop for microbiome research, bringing together high-quality metabolomics, metagenomics, and powerful informatics tools," said Janice Jones, Director, Scientific & Technical Planning at Metabolon. "This expansion gives scientists more shots on goal — more chances to discover, understand, and explain how the microbiome influences health outcomes."

To learn more about Metabolon's enhanced Microbiome Panel, visit https://www.metabolon.com/services/untargeted-metabolomics/microbiome-panel/.

About Metabolomics
Metabolomics, the large-scale study of all small molecules in a biological system, is the only omics technology that provides a complete current-state functional readout of a biological system. Metabolomics helps researchers see beyond individual genetic variation, capturing the combined impact of genetic and external factors, such as drugs, diet, lifestyle, and the microbiome, on human health. By measuring thousands of discrete chemical signals that form biological pathways in the body, metabolomics can reveal important biomarkers, enabling a better understanding of a drug's mechanism of action, pharmacodynamics, and safety profile, as well as individual responses to therapy.

About Metabolon 
Metabolon, Inc. is the global leader in metabolomics, with a mission to deliver biochemical data and insights that expand and accelerate the impact of life sciences research and complement other 'omics' technologies. With more than 25 years, 15,000+ projects, 4,000+ publications, and ISO 9001:2015, CLIA, and CAP certifications, Metabolon has developed industry-leading scientific, technological, and bioinformatics techniques. Metabolon's Global Discovery Panel is powered by the world's largest proprietary metabolomics reference library. Metabolon's industry-leading data and translational science expertise help customers and partners address some of the most challenging and pressing questions in the life sciences, accelerating research and enhancing development success. The company offers scalable, customizable multiomics solutions, including metabolomics and lipidomics, that support customer needs from discovery through clinical trials and product life-cycle management. For more information, please visit www.metabolon.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.