A Fast and Accurate Way to Determine Short Chain Fatty Acids in Human Serum by GC–MS and Their Distribution in Children with Digestive Diseases

Abstract

Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) represent the largest group of metabolic nutrients produced by gut microbiota, and can be considered potential biomarkers for digestive tract diseases. A fast, cost-effective, and reproducible analytical method for the analysis of SCFAs is highly required. This work developed a one-step extraction of 14 SCFAs using a mixture of ethanol and n-hexane in human serum samples by GC–MS without derivatization. The recoveries of the 14 SCFAs ranged from 62.4% to 129.2% in human serum samples. The LODs and LOQs of the 14 SCFAs were 0.12–0.48 mg/L and 0.40–1.61 mg/L, respectively. The application of this method was carried out by comparing SCFAs in serum samples from children with health and digestive tract diseases, and the results demonstrated that SCFAs in the serum of children with digestive disorders were significantly higher than those of healthy children, implying that digestive tract diseases affect gut microbiota and their metabolisms.