Evaluation of an automated LC-MS/MS system for analyzing hydrophilic blood metabolites

The intestinal microbiome plays an important role in health and/or disease because it influences pathological and normal homeostatic functions. Low-molecular-weight metabolites produced by intestinal microbiome are absorbed constantly from the intestinal lumen and carried to systemic circulation; they play a direct role in health and/or disease. There are limited reports concerning the function of metabolites produced by intestinal microbiome. Furthermore, these studies are targeting specific metabolites such as short chain fatty acids but not global metabolites (metabolome). For clarifying the relationship between health and/or disease and metabolome produced by intestinal bacteria, only free bacterial metabolites in the intestinal luminal content (or feces) should be analyzed. In this study, metabolites in feces of young and old mice were analyzed by LC-MS/MS.