Determination of Short Chain Fatty Acids in Mice Feces by Capillary Electrophoresis

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) are compounds produced during fermentation of gut microbiota. Acetic, propionic and butyric acids are the most important SCFA produced from non-digestible foods. We developed and validated a rapid and low-cost capillary electrophoretic (CE) method for determination of acetic, propionic and butyric acids in mice feces (100 mg of sample). Electrophoretic separation was performed for SCFA determination in feces samples during 10 min. The method showed good linearity for all analytes (determination coefficient, r2 &gt; 0.98); recovery from 74.1 to 109.8%, while the intra- and interday precision essays were suitable (relative standard deviation (RSD) &lt; 10%); and limits of detection and quantification of 0.13-0.43 mM for acetic acid, 0.09-0.29 mM for propionic acid and 0.03-0.09 mM for butyric acid. Real samples of mice dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis feces treated with jabuticaba (Plinia cauliflora) aqueous extract were performed successfully.短链脂肪酸（Short-chain Fatty Acids, SCFA）是肠道微生物群发酵过程中生成的一类化合物。乙酸、丙酸和丁酸是由难消化食物代谢产生的三类最主要的短链脂肪酸。本研究开发并验证了一种快速低成本的毛细管电泳（Capillary Electrophoresis, CE）方法，用于测定小鼠粪便（样品量100 mg）中的乙酸、丙酸和丁酸含量。该方法用于粪便样品的短链脂肪酸测定时，电泳分离时长仅为10分钟。该方法对所有被测物均表现出良好的线性关系，测定系数r²>0.98；加标回收率介于74.1%~109.8%之间，日内与日间精密度实验结果均符合要求（相对标准偏差（Relative Standard Deviation, RSD）<10%）；乙酸的检出限与定量限分别为0.13~0.43 mM，丙酸为0.09~0.29 mM，丁酸为0.03~0.09 mM。使用嘉宝果（Plinia cauliflora）水提物处理的葡聚糖硫酸钠诱导结肠炎小鼠粪便实际样品的检测也获得了成功。