How it works
How the microbiome test works
Four simple steps between the moment you open the kit and the moment you hold a detailed report and a 12-week plan — in Bulgarian.
It is simple
No doctor's offices. No queues. No vague results
You spend about five minutes at home — we take care of the rest. The Leucine Rich Bio laboratory, shotgun sequencing and a report that turns millions of data points into concrete, understandable steps for you.
- 4
- simple steps
- ~5
- minutes for the sample
- 16
- working days after we receive your sample
- 48
- pages in Bulgarian
01Step
You order and receive a kit
You choose your test online in minutes. The courier delivers the sterile kit discreetly to your home — within 2 working days, usually the next day. No appointment, no waiting in queues.
- Discreet delivery to an address or courier office
- Free delivery of the kit and the sample
- Everything you need in one box
02Step
You collect the sample at home
Sterile tools and clear instructions. The whole procedure takes about five minutes. You collect the sample whenever it suits you and send it back with Econt, free of charge.
- About 5 minutes, painless
- No fasting or special preparation
- Free return with the enclosed label
02Step
You collect the sample at home
Sterile tools and clear instructions. The whole procedure takes about five minutes. You collect the sample whenever it suits you and send it back with Econt, free of charge.
- About 5 minutes, painless
- No fasting or special preparation
- Free return with the enclosed label
03Step
Shotgun analysis in the laboratory
In the Leucine Rich Bio laboratory the DNA is extracted from your sample and sequenced with Oxford Nanopore shotgun metagenomics — the method that reads all the DNA with long reads, not just fragments.
- Shotgun metagenomic sequencing — far more detailed than 16S
- Down to species level: bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses
- Checks on the sample and on the report
04Step
Your report and 12-week plan
Within 16 working days of receiving your sample you get a 48-page report in Bulgarian: the Rych Index™, how your microbes break down lactose, fructose, gluten and histamine, which antibiotic resistance genes your bacteria carry — plus a personalised 12-week nutrition plan with specific foods and meals by time of day.
- A 48-page report in plain Bulgarian
- A personalised 12-week nutrition plan
- Access in your profile at any time
04Step
Your report and 12-week plan
Within 16 working days of receiving your sample you get a 48-page report in Bulgarian: the Rych Index™, how your microbes break down lactose, fructose, gluten and histamine, which antibiotic resistance genes your bacteria carry — plus a personalised 12-week nutrition plan with specific foods and meals by time of day.
- A 48-page report in plain Bulgarian
- A personalised 12-week nutrition plan
- Access in your profile at any time
What you get
48 pages. Over 100 indicators. One manual for your body
The report turns millions of sequenced DNA fragments into concrete, understandable indicators — ordered from the big picture down to the detail. Click on any of them for more.
Rych Index™ — the overall score of your microbiome
Everything starts here. The report compares your microbiome with healthy reference groups and boils it down to a score from 0 to 100. You see at once where you stand — and, with a repeat test, whether you are moving in the right direction.
Rych Index™ · gut health score
sample result0
020406080100
Non-ideal rangeIdeal rangeTell us your secret
What your microbes produce
The bacteria in your gut don't just live there — they work. They produce short-chain fatty acids that feed the gut wall, B vitamins and neurotransmitters that research links to the gut–brain axis. The report assesses their potential for each.
Short-chain fatty acids
9 indicators — butyrate, acetate, propionate, caproate, valerate, isobutyrate, isovalerate, 2-methylbutyrate and formate.
Butyrate is a main source of energy for the cells of the large intestine; propionate takes part in regulating appetite and metabolism; acetate is a source of energy. The report shows your microbes' potential to produce them — not their levels in your body.
Vitamin production
9 — vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12 and vitamin C.
Gut bacteria can synthesise part of these vitamins. The report assesses your microbes' potential to produce them — not your vitamin status and not whether you need supplements.
Neurotransmitters
10 — serotonin, dopamine, GABA, acetylcholine, glutamate, histamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, tryptamine and tryptophan.
Most of the body's serotonin is made by cells of the gut wall, and gut microbes influence this process. The report shows your microbes' potential — not the levels of neurotransmitters in your body.
What your microbes do
This is their role in your day-to-day: how they break down fats, carbohydrates and proteins, as well as lactose, fructose, gluten and histamine, how they affect gut motility and the absorption of minerals, and how much they support your endurance.
Macronutrient metabolism
How your microbiome processes carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
The report assesses your microbes' potential to take part in breaking down the three main macronutrients — carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Gut function
The potential for gut motility and for the bioavailability of minerals such as iron, zinc and calcium.
The report assesses your microbiome's potential linked to how the gut moves and its potential to influence the absorption of iron, zinc and calcium from plant foods. It does not measure how much your body absorbs.
Lactose, fructose, gluten and histamine
How your microbes break down these four substances from food.
The test does not establish an intolerance and is not an allergy test. The report assesses the potential of your gut microbes to break down lactose, fructose, gluten and histamine — the plan uses this data to arrange your foods. If you suspect an intolerance or coeliac disease, the test is ordered by a doctor.
Endurance potential
Microbes that research links to aerobic and physical endurance.
For example, a higher share of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii has been linked to better aerobic endurance. This is your microbes' potential, not an assessment of your fitness.
What your microbes say about your health
Your gut microbes affect far more than digestion. Here the report brings together five health indicators, from fatigue to the gut barrier, and compares your microbes with the profiles seen in people with eight common conditions. So you see where your microbes work for you and where it is worth helping them.
Prone to fatigue
Whether your microbes help you against fatigue: the species research links to better muscle function and less fatigue.
The report rates it on three levels: low, moderate or high. It is an assessment of your microbes, not a measurement of your energy. If the fatigue does not go away, see a doctor.
Leaky gut potential
How strong your gut barrier is according to your microbes: which species strengthen it and which weaken it.
The gut lining lets nutrients through and holds the rest back. Some bacteria strengthen it, for example with the butyrate they produce, while others weaken it. The report shows their balance in you. It does not measure how permeable your gut is.
Potential gut inflammation
Whether microbes linked to inflammation are overgrowing in your gut, and whether you have enough of the beneficial ones that produce short-chain fatty acids.
Research links gut inflammation to two signs in the microbiome: an overgrowth of some microbes and fewer beneficial species that produce short-chain fatty acids. The report rates these signs in you on three levels. It is not a test for inflammation and does not replace the tests a doctor orders.
TMAO production potential
How much your microbes turn the carnitine and choline in your food into TMA, which the liver turns into TMAO.
Carnitine is found mostly in red meat, choline in eggs and liver. Without gut microbes almost no TMA is formed, so two people eating the same food can have very different levels. The report shows your microbes' potential, not the level of TMAO in your blood.
Microplastic exposure
Species and genes in your microbiome that research links to exposure to microplastics.
Microplastics are now found in food, water and air, and research is finding links between them and gut microbes, including genes and enzymes involved in breaking them down. The report assesses these microbial signs in you. It does not measure the amount of microplastics in your body.
Similarity to the microbiome in 8 conditions
The report shows, as a percentage, how closely your microbes resemble those seen in people with type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
Research finds characteristic changes in the microbiome in each of these conditions. The report compares your microbiome with these profiles, so you know which it resembles most and what to keep an eye on. It is not a diagnosis and does not predict whether you will develop any of them.
Which microbes are present
By name: how diverse your microbiome is, which key and probiotic bacteria you have, what share opportunistic microbes make up and which antibiotic resistance genes your bacteria carry. This is the raw picture everything else comes from.
Diversity and kingdoms
The Shannon diversity index + the distribution across 5 kingdoms: bacteria, archaea, fungi, eukaryotes and viruses.
Higher diversity usually means a more resilient microbiome. You also see the ratio between the five kingdoms — a detail that 16S tests do not capture, because they analyse only bacteria and archaea.
Key microbes
36 key species whose balance has a large effect on the whole microbiome.
They include Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Prevotella copri, Roseburia and Bifidobacterium. The report shows the share of each species compared with the reference group.
Probiotic species
Which of 42 probiotic species you have and how much: 21 lactobacilli, 7 bifidobacteria and 14 others, including Akkermansia muciniphila.
You see their levels compared with the reference group and which are low. For each species the report notes whether to consider a supplement, carry on as you are, or avoid one.
Opportunistic microbes
The relative share of microbes that in healthy people are usually present in small amounts — compared with the reference group.
This is information about the balance of your microbiome — it is not a test for infection or parasites and does not show an infection. If you have symptoms, see a doctor.
Antibiotic resistance genes
Which known resistance genes your bacteria carry (a check across 90 antibiotics), plus your microbiome's potential to recover after antibiotics. Not a prediction of the effect of a treatment.
The report shows which known resistance genes your gut bacteria carry — general information about your microbiome. It does not show whether a given treatment will work, it is not an antibiogram and it is not for choosing an antibiotic.
Top 5 most abundant species
Which five species dominate in each of the five kingdoms at the time of the test.
A quick look at the dominant species that shape the character of your microbiome at the time of the test — a starting point for tracking changes over time.
Nutrition plan
From DNA to your plate.
The report doesn't end with the numbers. The gut test comes with a 12-week nutrition plan calculated from your microbes — an approach clinically tested in a pilot study by Leucine Rich Bio with 30 participants (PeerJ, 2024), funded by the company.
Nutrition plan
Data without a plan is just numbers
Every gut report comes with a personalised 12-week nutrition programme built on your unique microbiome profile — an approach clinically tested in a pilot study by Leucine Rich Bio with 30 participants (PeerJ, 2024), funded by the company. Three phases and about 250 foods in 11 groups, each with how often to eat it.
More than a report
A probiotic matched to your test result
Not on sale yet. A food supplement: a fully individual probiotic formula with live bacterial cultures, created specifically for you based on the probiotic species missing from your gut test.
- Created according to your gut test result
- A fully individual formula
- Coming soon
See the probioticsRequires results from a gut test
Questions about the process
