Metabolomics profile of Japanese female patients with restricting-type anorexia nervosa

In this study, the serum metabolic profiles of 10 female patients with restricting type anorexia nervosa (ANR) were compared to those of 10 age-matched healthy female controls. While the levels of amino acids were lower among the patients than among the controls, the levels of uremic toxins, including p-cresyl sulfate (PCS), indole-3-acetic acid, and phenyl sulfate, were higher in ANR patients. The serum PCS levels correlated positively with the abundance of the Clostridium coccoides group or the C. leptum subgroup in the feces of patients, but not in those of controls. Collectively, these results indicate that the serum metabolic profiles of patients with ANR differ from those of healthy women in terms of both decreased amino acid levels and increased uremic toxins. Gut microbes including C. coccoides or C. leptum may be involved in such an increase in uremic toxins.