Scientific Abstract

It is thought that the anatomical structure of the colon lends itself perfectly to act as a fermenting chamber with the gaseous molecules emitted having direct effects on the colonocyte, as well as gut neural (Beltowski 2007) and metabolic effects (Turnbaugh et al. 2006). We refer to this fermentation as ‘The Fermentome’, and further propose that alteration in ‘The Fermentome’ through dietary modification will have a direct impact on colonic, as well as metabolic, health and disease (Arasaradnam et al. 2009) – the study of which we term ‘Fermentonomics’. Fermentation of undigested foods in the colon by its resident bacteria is an essential component of normal colonic function. There is reason to believe that disturbance in bacterial activity may contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer. In fact, Marchesi et al. (2007) have been able to demonstrate the depletion of certain microbiota-related metabolites in the feces of patients with IBD, suggesting a disruption of gut bacterial ecology and, perhaps, fermentation. Identifying this mal-fermentation may allow clinical phenotyping of patients with IBD that will then enable appropriate and timely treatment. Studying fermentation directly is difficult, due to a lack of access, but it is possible to monitor gases and vapors that are dissolved within urine/feces. Thus, in essence, we believe that the gaseous phase chemical components dissolved within a patient’s urine/feces will vary radically from a ‘normal’ person, due to alteration in the fermentome within the colon. Hence, we propose to investigate Fermentonomics by measuring the nature of the gases released and developing techniques that can use this information in order to aid identification and monitoring of IBD.

 

Thus, we hypothesize that the colonic bacterial fermentation profile, reflected by the released measurable gases and diagnostic volatile organic compounds (dVOCs) within a patients urine/feces, changes in IBD specifically:
 

·        dVOC/gas profile in IBD is different compared with non-IBD (controls) 

·        Changes further during flare-ups

·        These changes regress to the individual’s baseline when remission is achieved