HPLC-Based Metabolomic Analysis of Normal and Inflamed Gut

The idiopathic inflammatory bowel diseases, which include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are multifactorial chronic conditions that result in numerous perturbations of metabolism in the gastrointestinal mucosa. Thus, methodologies for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of small molecule metabolites in mucosal tissues are important for further elucidation of mechanisms driving inflammation and the metabolic consequences of inflammation. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a ubiquitous analytical technique that can be adapted for both targeted and non-targeted metabolomic analysis. Here, protocols for reversed-phase (RP) HPLC-based methods using two different detection modalities are presented. Ultraviolet detection is used for the analysis of adenine nucleotide metabolites, whereas electrochemical detection is used for the analysis of multiple amino acid metabolites. These methodologies provide platforms for further characterization of the metabolic changes that occur during gastrointestinal inflammation.