TY - JOUR
T1 - Diagnosing gastrointestinal illnesses using fecal headspace volatile organic compounds
AU - Chan, Daniel K.
AU - Leggett, Cadman L.
AU - Wang, Kenneth K.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by National Institute of Health Grants, No. P30 CA015083, No. U01 CA182940, No. U54 CA163004; and Kathy and Russ Van Cleve Endowment for Gastroenterology Research (all to Wang KK).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/1/28
Y1 - 2016/1/28
N2 - Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from stool are the components of the smell of stool representing the end products of microbial activity and metabolism that can be used to diagnose disease. Despite the abundance of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane that have already been identified in human flatus, the small portion of trace gases making up the VOCs emitted from stool include organic acids, alcohols, esters, heterocyclic compounds, aldehydes, ketones, and alkanes, among others. These are the gases that vary among individuals in sickness and in health, in dietary changes, and in gut microbial activity. Electronic nose devices are analytical and pattern recognition platforms that can utilize mass spectrometry or electrochemical sensors to detect these VOCs in gas samples. When paired with machine-learning and pattern recognition algorithms, this can identify patterns of VOCs, and thus patterns of smell, that can be used to identify disease states. In this review, we provide a clinical background of VOC identification, electronic nose development, and review gastroenterology applications toward diagnosing disease by the volatile headspace analysis of stool.
AB - Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from stool are the components of the smell of stool representing the end products of microbial activity and metabolism that can be used to diagnose disease. Despite the abundance of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane that have already been identified in human flatus, the small portion of trace gases making up the VOCs emitted from stool include organic acids, alcohols, esters, heterocyclic compounds, aldehydes, ketones, and alkanes, among others. These are the gases that vary among individuals in sickness and in health, in dietary changes, and in gut microbial activity. Electronic nose devices are analytical and pattern recognition platforms that can utilize mass spectrometry or electrochemical sensors to detect these VOCs in gas samples. When paired with machine-learning and pattern recognition algorithms, this can identify patterns of VOCs, and thus patterns of smell, that can be used to identify disease states. In this review, we provide a clinical background of VOC identification, electronic nose development, and review gastroenterology applications toward diagnosing disease by the volatile headspace analysis of stool.
KW - Electronic nose
KW - Feces
KW - Mass spectrometry
KW - Odors
KW - Volatile organic compounds
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U2 - 10.3748/WJG.V22.I4.1639
DO - 10.3748/WJG.V22.I4.1639
M3 - Review article
C2 - 26819529
AN - SCOPUS:85016856180
VL - 22
SP - 1639
EP - 1649
JO - World Journal of Gastroenterology
JF - World Journal of Gastroenterology
SN - 1007-9327
IS - 4
ER -