ArticleBMC gastroenterology2016
Faecal short-chain fatty acids - a diagnostic biomarker for irritable bowel syndrome?
Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 103 citations in OpenAlex.
- SCFA Alterations in IBS Subtypes: Systematic Evidence and Future Prospects for Biomarker-Based Diagnosis in India.Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Pooled it
- Serological and faecal markers of irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EBioMedicine · 2026Pooled it
- Changes in Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acids in IBS Patients and Effects of Different Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Alterations in fecal short-chain fatty acids in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2019Pooled it
- The hidden cost of antibiotics: microbial dysbiosis-induced SCFA imbalance and its underlying mechanisms.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Novel hypothesis and therapeutic interventions for irritable bowel syndrome: interplay between metal dyshomeostasis, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and neuropsychiatric symptoms.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2025Review
- Complexity of antibiotic resistance and its impact on gut microbiota dynamics.Engineering microbiology · 2025Review
- Gut microbiota in irritable bowel syndrome: a narrative review of mechanisms and microbiome-based therapies.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- AnGut microbiome (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Exploring Gut Microbiota Imbalance in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Potential Therapeutic Effects of Probiotics and Their Metabolites.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Human Health: From Metabolic Pathways to Current Therapeutic Implications.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Article
- Quantifying Gut Microbial Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Their Isotopomers in Mechanistic Studies Using a Rapid, Readily Expandable LC-MS Platform.Analytical chemistry · 2024Article
- Gut bacteria: an etiological agent in human pathological conditions.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Review
- Fecal short-chain fatty acids in non-constipated irritable bowel syndrome: a potential clinically relevant stratification factor based on catabotyping analysis.Gut microbes · 2023Article
- The Low-FODMAP Diet, IBS, and BCFAs: Exploring the Positive, Negative, and Less Desirable Aspects-A Literature Review.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Lactobacillus reuteri CCFM1175 and Lactobacillus paracasei CCFM1176 Could Prevent Capsaicin-Induced Ileal and Colonic Injuries.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2023Article
- Article
- MAFLD and Celiac Disease in Children.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Determination of short-chain fatty acids as putative biomarkers of cancer diseases by modern analytical strategies and tools: a review.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) relies on symptom-based criteria. A valid and reliable biomarker that could confirm the diagnosis is desirable. This study evaluated the properties of faecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) as diagnostic biomarkers for IBS.
methodsTwenty-five subjects with IBS and 25 controls were included in this explanatory case-control study. Stool samples were analysed for SCFA (acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid) with gas chromatography and reported as mmol/l and molar%. In the search for the best way to distinguish between subjects with and without IBS, the total amount and the amount of each of the SCFA were measured, and the proportions and differences between the SCFA were calculated.
resultsIn the IBS and control group, the mean age was 46.2 (SD 12.9) and 49.2 (SD 14.6), and the number of females was 13/25 (52 %) and 15/25 (60 %) respectively. The difference between propionic and butyric acid (mmol/l) had the best diagnostic properties, the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve was 0.89 (95 % CI: 0.80-0.98) (p < 0.001). With a cut-off value > 0.015 mmol/l indicating IBS, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 92 %, 72 %, 3.29, 0.11 and 29.6 respectively. Similar diagnostic properties were shown for all the IBS subgroups.
conclusionsThe study indicated that faecal SCFA could be a non-invasive, valid and reliable biomarker for the differentiation of healthy subjects from subjects with IBS.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.