The gut microbiome and metabolites are altered and interrelated in patients with functional constipationOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
This study investigated the gut microbiome and fecal metabolite profile in functional constipation (FC), a condition whose underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The researchers combined 16S rDNA sequencing with non-targeted metabolomic detection using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to characterize fecal samples. The goal was to identify how gut microbiota and metabolites are altered in FC and how the two are interrelated, since this relationship had received limited attention in prior literature.
Who was studied?
The study compared fecal samples from patients with functional constipation to samples from healthy individuals, referred to as the healthy control (HC) group. The abstract does not specify exact participant numbers, age range, or geographic setting. The comparison design indicates a case-control human cohort study rather than an animal or purely computational dataset.
What were the most important findings?
Gut microbiota richness and diversity were significantly increased in FC patients compared to healthy controls (p < 0.01). Eighteen bacterial genera showed statistically significant changes between groups, including Intestinibacter, Klebsiella, and Akkermansia (p < 0.05). Metabolomic analysis revealed 79 differentially abundant metabolites, such as (-)-caryophyllene oxide, chenodeoxycholic acid, and biliverdin, with primary bile acid biosynthesis and porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism emerging as the most significantly enriched pathways (FDR < 0.01).
What are the greatest implications of this study?
The findings suggest that functional constipation involves coordinated shifts in both gut microbial composition and metabolic output, particularly involving bile acid metabolism. Because chenodeoxycholic acid and related bile acids are implicated, altered microbial processing of bile acids may contribute to disrupted bowel function in FC. Mapping these microbiome-metabolite relationships could help identify biomarkers or microbiome-targeted strategies for diagnosing or managing functional constipation.