Background
Analysis of the stool samples is an essential part of routine diagnostics of the helminthes infections. However, the standard
Conclusions
A simple method for metabolic profiling/phenotyping of the stools samples is reported and tested on a pilot opisthorchiasis cohort. To our knowledge this is the first report of a NMR-based feces analysis in the context of the helminthic infections.
Results
Here we report an optimized method for NMR based metabolic profiling/phenotyping of the stools samples. Overall, 62 metabolites were annotated in the pool sample using the 2D NMR spectra and the Bruker Biorefcode database. The compounds cover a wide range of the metabolome including amino acids and their derivatives, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), carboxylic acids and their derivatives, amines, carbohydrates, purines, alcohols and others. An exploratory analysis of the metabolic profiles reveals no strong trends associated with the infection status of the patients. However, using the penalized regression as a variable selection method we succeeded in finding a subset of eleven variables which enables to discriminate the patients on basis of their infections status. Conclusions: A simple method for metabolic profiling/phenotyping of the stools samples is reported and tested on a pilot opisthorchiasis cohort. To our knowledge this is the first report of a NMR-based feces analysis in the context of the helminthic infections.