Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2025
An In Vitro Batch-culture Model to Estimate the Effects of Interventional Regimens on Human Fecal Microbiota
Published on: July 31, 2019
Fecal pH and redox as functional markers in the premature infant gut microbiome
Jeffrey Letourneau1, LaShawndra Walker2, Se Hyang Han2
1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27708.
Insights
Fecal pH and redox potential may serve as biomarkers for preterm infant gut health. These measurements, along with short-chain fatty acid content and microbiome composition, can help identify infants at risk for serious neonatal complications.
Area of Science:
- Neonatology
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- The infant gut microbiome is vital for development, but alterations in preterm infants are linked to severe complications like necrotizing enterocolitis and sepsis.
- Current research identifies links between microbiome composition and disease risk, yet practical biomarkers for early risk identification are lacking.
- Understanding the gut environment's metabolic state is crucial for improving preterm infant health outcomes.
Approach:
- Longitudinal stool samples were collected from preterm infants during their first postnatal months.
- Measurements included fecal pH, redox potential, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) content, and microbiome composition via 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
- These data were correlated with clinical information to investigate the role of pH and redox in gut development and health.
Key Points:
- Fecal pH was higher in infants born earlier or exposed to antibiotics.
- Redox potential increased with postnatal age, correlating with SCFA content.
- Microbiome composition demonstrated relationships with birth weight, age, pH, and redox potential.
Conclusions:
- Fecal pH and redox potential show potential as biomarkers for the preterm infant gut's metabolic state.
- These physiological parameters, alongside microbiome analysis, may aid in identifying infants at risk for neonatal complications.
- Further research can validate pH and redox as clinical tools for monitoring preterm infant gut health.
Abstract:
The infant gut microbiome is a crucial factor in health and development. In preterm infants, altered gut microbiome composition and function have been linked to serious neonatal complications such as necrotizing enterocolitis and sepsis, which can lead to long-term disability. Although many studies have described links between microbiome composition and disease risk, there is a need for biomarkers to identify infants at risk of these complications in practice. In this study, we obtained stool samples from preterm infant participants longitudinally during the first postnatal months, and measured pH and redox, as well as SCFA content and microbiome composition by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. These outcomes were compared to clinical data to better understand the role of pH and redox in infant gut microbiome development and overall health, and to assess the potential utility of pH and redox as biomarkers. We found that infants born earlier or exposed to antibiotics exhibited increased fecal pH, and that redox potential increased with postnatal age. These differences may be linked to changes in SCFA content, which was correlated with pH and increased with age. Microbiome composition was also related to birth weight, age, pH, and redox. Our findings suggest that pH and redox may serve as biomarkers of metabolic state in the preterm infant gut.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:23Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the...
01:29Bacterial Flora of the Large Intestine
The normal gut flora of the colon plays a critical role in generating essential vitamins such as vitamins K, B5, and B7.